


Feathers of Iron, Heart of Gold

by LittleStarredSky



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Natasha, Alpha Pepper, Alpha Steve, Alpha Thor, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alphas love to ravish, Asgard, Asgardian Loki, Author has no idea what she is doing, Avengers Tower, Beta Bruce, Beta Clint, Blue Wings, Bruce Banner-centric, But she doesn't tell anyone because she's a good person, Clint Barton-centric, Everyone Is Poly Because Avengers, F/M, Flock, Fluff, I'll decide later, I'm knee deep in this motherfucker, It's Avengers of course it's poly, Knotting, Loki - Freeform, Loki is here, M/M, Making this up as I go along, Mating, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating all over the place, Multi, NO HATE!, Natasha cares, Not-really-Alpha Tony, Omega Tony, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, Pack, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Pack Sex, Pepper knows about Tony, Perceptive Natasha, Polyamory, Porn at some points, Porn eventually, Possible Mpreg, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Smut, Tagging is ridiculous, Tony Has Trust Issues, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark-centric, Tony has really pretty wings, Tony's A+ childhood, What Have I Done, Wingfic, Wings, Work In Progress, alpha bucky, omg, wingkink, work with me here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:35:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 70,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4051708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleStarredSky/pseuds/LittleStarredSky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Tony was just a wee fledgling, the idea of being a big, tough Alpha with huge, impressive wings was burned into his head, so imagine his surprise when, after his fourth molt, he presented as an Omega. Years later, after he has learned to cope with being an Omega by not being an Omega, he joins the Avengers Initiative, and his little secret stays with him, and only him. As much as Tony can run with the big, bad Alphas and pretend to be one, it still doesn't guarantee that his secret won't be accidentally seen by his teammates' eyes.</p><p>Truly, how long can Tony keep his azure-blue wings hidden under the layers of dye, and his scents and heats dampened by suppressors? </p><p>Probably not long enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Started From the Bottom

**Author's Note:**

> WOOHOO... This idea wouldn't leave me alone, so what the heck! Let's do this thing!

Tony remembers the first molt he ever had; he was sitting in the living room, minding his own business while his parents were God-knows-where doing God-knows-what, and his white wings that marked his youth suddenly felt itchy. So, naturally, Tony shook and puffed out his feathers, but when he did, he felt a few lift away and fall from his wings, and he froze. It was his first molting, the moment when his true colors would be revealed and he would find out his designation. He slowly put down his mechanics book and walked as fast as he could to his bedroom, where he sat on his bed and pulled the loose feathers from his wings so he could quicken the process of seeing his first molting colors. But when he looked in the mirror, all he could see was his down; no colors yet. As he tried not to sigh in disappointment, Tony laid down in bed and closed his eyes, imagining how beautiful his wings would be after his third or fourth molting. 

When he went to school the next day, he tried very hard to not tell his other teenage friends about how he was molting, but it wasn’t a rare occurrence at their age, so no one pried. He, however, noticed that his friend Rae was starting her second molt, with the very light pink feathers falling away and beginning to take a deeper, darker reddish-pink instead of the light, girlish pink that she had had for about six months. He smiled to himself. If she kept up the darkening, she would turn out Alpha for sure. Not like it would be a big surprise. Rae’s brash and brave personality was very Alpha-esque. All too often, Tony would smile to himself, thinking, hoping, praying that he would join the Alpha rank and never be looked down upon. Besides, that rank suited him better than any other.

Later down the line, Tony went through his second molt. By that time, he was a senior in high-school, and the idea of being an Alpha had firmly seated itself in his and his parents’ brains and him presenting as anything less than a Beta was deemed unacceptable. Tony’s feathers had adopted a bluish tint to them, which soon darkened into sky blue, and Tony was very much excited by the development. In his dreams, his wings were navy blue with black and white speckles on the tips, much like a kestrel’s, and they would be enormous. They would be so enormous that he would be feared and respected and listened to, as well as seen as a powerful and a strong mate, because why not? He would be able to fly faster than all the others and he would be the Alpha of the Year. He had big plans, for him and his wings. He would take the world by storm. 

Little did he know, fate had a little surprise in store for the infamous Anthony Stark. 

 

* * *

Tony stared into the plus-sized mirror he had hung on his plus-sized closet door in this plus-sized room, and he could not help the anxiety that was sitting on his little black heart. He had just gone through his third molt, and all he was seeing was bright, iridescent-blue feathers peaking between his the second-molt-sky-blue ones, not the darker, navy blue, matte feathers that he should be seeing, at least if he was going be an Alpha like he was supposed to. The feathers were almost the colors of peacock plumage, a mixture of blue and green and purple that was mesmerizing, even to Tony. If Tony had seen them on any other person, he would have thought they were incredibly beautiful. But, because they were attached to Tony’s shoulder blades, they terrified him. They were the mark of something much scarier that could happen to him if the biology resting deep within his body betrayed him and turned him into the one thing that would ruin his dreams, his reputation, his life. Tony tore his eyes away from the mirror, done looking at a betraying reflection. 

In class, Rae and Josh, the two who had managed to get into MIT with him (what could they say? Geniuses flocked together.), couldn’t help but smirk at him when he entered the lecture hall, eyes glued on the shimmery feathers growing from Tony’s appendages, to which Tony groaned inwardly and rolled his eyes. Rae, whose feathers had finished their third and final plumage, were now dark, deep crimson with purple on the outer edges, and, as everybody’s hunch predicted, Rae presented as a full fledged, red-blooded Alpha female. She was a bit of an early presenter (most Alphas were) and she had reached full maturity at the age of 19 years old. Tony was almost 18, so he had a little time before he could truly freak out about his presentation, but the fact that he still hadn’t popped a knot (and he had had many opportunities to do so) or hadn’t had a swell in protective tendencies or uncontrollable acts of aggression had him fairly concerned. But there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. All he could do was sit and wait, which for him was incredibly endearing.

Seeing Tony’s furrowed brow and “I’m thinking about deep shit” expression, Rae gently pulled a fistful of feathers to get Tony’s attention. “Hey, Tony, you alive up there?”

Tony slowly turned his head. “Yeah, yeah, quit pulling.” His sensitive feathers were also something that loomed in the back of his head. Alphas didn’t really have hypersensitive wings. Rae sure as hell didn’t. You could drive a tack in there and she wouldn’t feel it. But Tony’s wings had always been a little more receptive to touch. 

Rae smirked. “Why? They’re really soft and pretty. I wish I had wings this beautiful.”

Did Tony really just hear a bit of envy in her tone? No way. “Well, yeah, I just hope they don’t stay this way. They’re a tad too shimmery for my tastes.”

Josh chuckled. “At least yours are interesting,” he said, shaking his own auburn, Beta wings and sighing. “Mine are boring as fuck.” Just as Tony was about to laugh, Josh spoke again. “How am I supposed to get bitches with boring-as-fuck wings? Ain’t nobody got time for that!”

“I really don’t think you know how to use any of those words,” Rae said, rubbing her forehead with a hand. “For a mathematical genius, you’re pretty slow on the uptake.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Josh replied. Tony groaned. 

“Thank God I’m the only thing everybody’s looking at,” Rae whispered under her breath. Tony laughed with her while Josh just gave them annoyed glares. 

“Fuck you guys.” Josh’s lips began to pout. Rae immediately stopped laughing and turned to face Josh, who was clearly upset. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and held it there, a well-known way to calm an emotional Beta or Omega, and Josh relaxed. Rae pulled away and stroked her hand through his primaries. When he smiled a little at her, she smiled back. 

“I’m sorry, Josh. We just got a little carried away. I should know that I shouldn’t tease you this early in the morning,” she cooed at him. Josh purred back as a sign of acceptation, to which Rae replied with a lower purr of her own. Not that Tony was paying attention to them or anything. Nope, he was paying complete and utter attention to whatever Mr. Collins was saying about the history of robotics. 

* *

Well, it finally fucking happened. His fourth molt, his final show, his last breath on the face of this earth. As Tony brushed away the last of the small sky blue feathers and the peacock colored feathers, he was terrified of what he might find in the mirror. Not that that wasn’t a new feeling anymore. He hadn’t spoken to his mother or father in weeks, but he knew that they would want to know what colors their Alpha son was flaunting to all the young Betas and Omegas. Sadly, that Alpha son didn’t exist. As Tony lifted his wings up into the view of the full length mirror, all he could see was the reflection of greens, blues, and purples that shimmered in the morning sun. The appendages were sleek, slim, made for speed instead of stamina, for soaring instead of flapping, for gliding around instead of long flights. They were for running away. They were the wings of an Omega. 

Tony had no idea about what he would tell his parents, the media, the world. He wasn’t an Alpha, he wasn’t a Beta, he was an Omega. A childbearing, house-cleaning, made-only-for-breeding Omega. Feeling the tears sting his eyes, Tony punched into the wall. Soon, he would be dealing with his first heat, and then having to go through the torture of telling his parents, then finding a “suitable” mate that would breed him for the rest of his life. He would have to go to the Omega Graduate College, where Omegas learn to cook, clean, sew, and care for children. He would have to give up his life as an engineer. He would have to find a mate to take care of him. Tony Stark would have a master, a controller, a person who kept him as a pet. He would lose his freedom. 

Yet, as Tony looked at himself in the mirror, at the sleek feathers, his shorter stature, his slightly wider hips, a little idea came into his head, and Tony made a very important decision: he would not be put in a box. He would not be taken away from everything he worked so hard for his entire life. He would not be defined because of his gender. He refused to have a collar put on him. He would not ever be told what he could not do. He, Anthony Edward Stark, would be an Alpha, no matter what it took. 

And the rest, as they say, is history. 

* *

After taking a few moments to watch the sunrise from his workshop, Tony took a moment to appreciate the little things in life, like sunrises, coffee, robotics, the existence of wing dye and suppressants. Like he said, the little things. However, the little things ran out far too quickly. The sunrise ends, the coffee’s drunk, the robots malfunction, the physician must again be bothered for the dye and suppressants that keep Tony Stark being Tony Stark. All in a day’s work. And bonus points if you’re a multi-billionaire, because you can get/do whatever the fuck you want and no one will have the balls to question you. It’s just getting out of the things you don’t want that’s the difficult part. 

* * *

When Tony offered his home to the Avengers Initiative, he admittedly did not think about how much of an impact on his life it would have. It was almost like having a family full of babies. Albeit babies that were trained assassins, gods, mutants, and super-soldiers, but babies nonetheless. 

To this day, Tony still cringes at the amount of coffeemakers that it took to teach Clint how to make a proper cup of joe, how many doors that have been taken from their hinges in Thor’s rages, how many glasses Bucky has accidentally broken and the few walls he punched with his metal arm, the amount of pots and pans that Bruce has dropped in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep, (which, thankfully, is not that often) and wakes up Tony, who’s barely asleep anyway. All of this not to mention the amount of knives and guns Natasha goes through in one mission, and, of course, the sheer amount of punching bags that Steve can go through when something is bothering him. Currently, the record is thirty-six after he found out Bucky was still alive. 

And it’s not like any of those things matter to Tony, he just doesn’t like how it brings out the maternal instinct in him to be comforting and helpful or reprimanding and a mother hen. And Alpha Tony shouldn’t be behaving like a mother hen… Even if the mother-hening was still pretty Alpha-like. 

He fussed over making Clint use the coffeemaker correctly because “a grown-ass man should now how to make his own coffee.”

He would give Thor a strict “talking to” about how he should “learn to control that damn temper that is destroying my house. Do you want a therapist?” 

He would constantly remind Bucky “not to leave glasses on the floor so you or anyone else could step on them and get glass in their feet and get infections and diseases that no one wants to have,” and then proceed to give the same lecture he gives to Thor. “Learn to control that fucking temper! Do I actually need to call a therapist so that I don’t come home to a pile of rubble next time you two get pissed off at each other?”

Bruce could go two ways: Either Tony tip-toeing down the stairs to help Bruce with the homemade chocolate chip cookies, or quietly stomping down the stairs and staring Bruce down from the hallway, telling him to “Shut the hell up. I’m attempting to fall asleep!” 

After Natasha used all twenty-eight of the special-made knives and bullets Tony had given to her, he couldn’t really be mad at her, but he could still be mad at the situation. “Goddamnit, I don’t think I have anymore titanium to recreate those knives, neither anymore coating to recreate those bullets or any of the cobalt needed for the molding and… Jarvis! We NEED to restock. This is getting fucking ridiculous.” 

And, of course, the times he would walk in on Steve down in the gym after a tough briefing, a pile of six or so punching bags next to the blue-eyed super-soldier, Tony would sigh and walk out muttering to himself “This is insane. Okay, that’s it, I’m officially living in an insane asylum. I am going upstairs right now and calling a therapist and an anger management expert… and possibly a new manager for energy core of SI, ‘cause the new guys rubs me the wrong way.”

And no one ever questioned him, but only because he was the owner of the building and his kestrel-colored wings spoke the language of “no bullshit.” Tony held them high and mighty, even if they were a little small to be an Alpha’s, the team had noticed, but Tony was slightly smaller anyway, so maybe it was just proportions.

But for Tony, he was in a very weird place. He was the lowest rank pretending to be the highest, and it felt even weirder because almost all of his teammates were Alphas. Alphas with beautiful, colorful, striking wings that made Tony a little bit tingly whenever they were being flashed and the Alphas would playfully, or even not playfully once in a while, like when Thor accidentally ate all of Bruce’s cookies without asking anyone else first, challenge each other. The wings would flare up and feathers would puff out, sending whirls of Alpha pheromones in every direction, and, inevitably, towards Tony’s nose, to which he would tense up and inevitably excuse himself from the room. That was the one place where Alpha Tony fell outside the norm, but the hidden Omega Tony was the most stereotypical. 

Alphas took a weird sort of pride in challenging each other, whether or not the challenge was accepted, and Omegas just kind of skirted around the edges, their biological minds prepared to care for Alphas who would end up pushing themselves too far. This characteristic fit Tony to a “t.” He would always end up leaving the room, his mood determining how long he would stay and watch, and when the “fights” were over, he would conveniently come strolling back into the room, eyes either glued to a Starkpad or a good ol’ fashioned pen and paper, and find a chair and sit, sometimes legs crossed, and tinker with ideas until there was something else to do. To be honest, there always was, but the owner of Stark Industries was allowed a break from fighting extraordinary villains and running a multi-trillion dollar company. Being Tony Stark had its perks. 

* * *

Today, after he watched the sunrise, Tony pulled himself and his wings out of the chair and stretched, feeling the creaks in his bones after a restless night. As much as he wanted to stay here, in his sacred space, he had to get some from of sustenance into his body if he was to keep on living. Sure, he could eat that weird green stuff that Dum-e was pushing toward him, but Steve’s cooking wasn’t half bad, and Bruce actually made half-decent pancakes, so Tony found it appropriate to drag himself all the way. Up. The. Stairs. 

In the kitchen, Tony was greeted by Clint and Natasha, Natasha making oatmeal with Clint making coffee. Tony almost said something when he saw Clint fiddling with the settings, but hey, in the end, he had done what he could. Honestly, he shouldn’t even care. He could always replace it. He cleared his throat to make his presence known, and, in response, two sets of wings flew up in surprise. Natasha’s jean-blue and red-tipped wings snapped up almost immediately, but Clint’s dusty-blue-gray-green wings lifted slowly. Tony could clearly tell who had been awake longer after that display. 

He gave a barely-there smile and said a rough good-morning to the duo. Clint raised his mug, momentarily unable to make actual words, but Natasha sent an actual smile his way and actually spoke a clear “good morning.” Tony shoved Clint out of the way of the coffeemaker and made his cup hot and black, just how he liked it. Afterwards, he parked himself on the recliner that faced the balcony and stared out into the city that he called his own, at the people flying past his window, men, women, and children, Alphas, Betas, and Omegas alike. Tony sighed. 

Minutes later, he heard other people enter the room, his sense of smell telling him of an Alpha who smelled of mead and the woods after a rain, a second Alpha who smelled of earth and old leather with a hint of citrus, and a third Alpha who smelled of oiled machinery and burning pine wood. So basically the whole team was now occupying the kitchen, minus Bruce. Snickering to himself, Tony listened as people shoved past each other to get their desired food items, making small talk about the weather and workout routines and what kind of jam he or she wanted from the fridge. Tony made a note to purchase some more blueberry jam when he had a chance. 

He heard the others fill in the open space after they had found their breakfast, and he made a point to stand up and stretch his wings so everyone knew he was at the scene. He turned his head, seeing and hearing rough greetings from his team members. He saw Thor and his great golden wings sitting on a bar stool at the counter, talking to Natasha and Clint. Steve and Bucky were pre-occupied with each other on the couch, Bucky’s teal-green, blue-speckled wings intertwining with Steve’s gold-tipped, white wings. Tony inwardly swooned, looking at the amount of beautiful, Alpha wings that filled the room, the easy-going and lazy pheromones that filled the space, and the Omega part of Tony’s brain purred in contentment at the fact that he had so many Alphas in his nest, that he was able to keep them here, that they liked it here. 

Tony shook his wings and put his coffee cup in the sink, but Clint caught his arm. 

“Is that all you’re gonna have?” he asked with a concerned tone. Tony just smiled down at the good-hearted Beta. 

“Yes, you worry wart. Don’t you ever underestimate a good cup of black coffee,” Tony said with a smirk. 

Clint raised his eyebrows. “Well, okay. Whatever you say, big man.”

“You’re damn right,” Tony said, loud enough for the whole room to hear him. He internally laughed when Steve’s and Bucky’s heads lifted up and widened their, eyes, shocked by the loud noise. What he didn’t laugh at was when Steve began to stretch his enormous, beautiful, attention-stealing wings. They went up, up, up, until they almost hit the ceiling. After Tony stopped himself from gawking, he took a moment to realize that his ceilings were thirteen feet tall, and that Steve Rogers’ fucking wings were two inches shy of touching the thirteen fucking feet tall ceiling. And if that wasn’t weirdly exciting, then nothing was. 

And, as nonchalantly as he could, Tony exited the room, discreetly avoiding walking right past Steve and his amazing self. Tony jumped from the landing balcony off the side of the kitchen room and swiftly flew to his private rooms. He needed a moment. A long one.


	2. Soaring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more explanation and a little peak about what Tony does behind closed doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! All the ideas are coming to me at once, so have fun reading the products of my Tony-filled brain!

As Tony leapt from the landing balcony, all he could feel was the eyes on his back, and not in the good way. Shit, Tony cursed to himself. His first thought was that a patch of his wing color was showing through the dye. His second thought was they smelled his real scent: the smell of something slightly earthy and the deep richness of orange blossoms that signaled his fertility. His Alpha scent was much rougher and more organic and kind of a mixture of Bucky’s and Steve’s scent: citrus-y, earthy, metallic, and oiled machinery. He had created that scent himself, and he was damn proud of it. It suited him better than flowers. 

As Tony landed in his rooms, he immediately wanted to go back down to his workshop, but he had a feeling that there was something a little more important that he should be doing. 

“Jarvis? Show calendar,” Tony called out into the eerily quiet space. 

“Of, course, sir,” Jarvis dutifully replied. When the AI pulled up the digital calendar, Tony groaned out loud and fisted his hair. The calendar very clearly showed May 23rd, the day when his heat was supposed to start. Because Tony took suppressants, he wouldn’t actually go into heat, but he would be extremely irritated and hard to cooperate with, which the team usually chalked up to the Alpha being in a bad mood. Tony just prayed that they hadn’t yet noticed a pattern. 

However, the heat would bring on other symptoms, one of which was an increase in pheromones and sex drive, because duh, that’s what a heat was, but it also caused an increase in Tony’s wing oil production. The oil was meant to keep his feathers shiny and free of dirt, but in heat, it signified the want to create a bond, and the exchange of oil was supposed to be a sign of love. Tony always thought is was a bit too romantic, but hey, it wasn’t the first time Mother Nature had made a decision without consulting him first. So, Tony just ignored it, like he did everything else that bothered him. 

However, the problem with wing oil was that it stuck to all of the dye that Tony had on his wings and made the dye squishy and sticky, and flying was perilous. During those four days when Tony’s biology took over, he had to constantly wash and rewash and apply and reapply the dye for his true nature to not be revealed. It sucked; it made him super paranoid. But all Tony could do about it was keep up with the chore and not flip his wings too much, lest the dye come loose and fling off his wings. 

Tony was beginning to question how much longer he could keep up with this particular chore.

Knowing that getting the old dye off now would make the entire process easier later, Tony resorted to taking a shower and getting the old coat off for a new one. He sauntered into the bathroom, wings dragging on floor because who cares, and turned on the shower to the warmer setting that loosened the dye. He stripped and stepped inside, reveling in the warm water. He then reached into the secret compartment in the shower wall, pulled out a feather comb, special dye-removing soap, a soft brush, and got to work.

He wet his wings in the water for a few moments, used the soap to loosen the dye, and pulled the feather comb through his wings. The dye came off in chunks due to the amount that sat on Tony’s wings, and Tony grimaced. He hated this. When all the dye was off, Tony stared at his reflection in the steamy glass, then glared at it. There, sprouting from his shoulders, was the same pair of azure-blue, shimmery wings that had betrayed him on oh-so-many ways. He reached a hand back to touch them and plucked out a feather to inspect it as he always should according to his physician, Dr. Angela Marlene. He checked for parasites, fungi, and blotchiness, which meant the dye was irritating his wings and he would have to give his wings a little air. Observing it with an engineer’s eye, Tony was glad to note there was nothing unusual in this particular feather. 

He stepped from the shower, toweled off, and flapped his wings to air them out in the large bathroom. Blasting the fans so the water in the air would dry, Tony activated a second hidden compartment in the bathroom: a little button on the underside of the marble countertop, which caused a whirring sound and a section of the tiles bathroom wall to pop out, revealing a robot that had tiny metal fingers and a wide array of brushes and paints, the Paint-R 3245. What, you really thought Tony painted his own wings? 

“Jarvis? Rev up the Paint-R 3245, location: bathroom number three, option ‘Normal Job,’” Tony called out. 

“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied dutifully, and the Paint-R began to come to life. It lifted up one metal arm, fingers holding a paint brush, and Tony say down in the special chair next to the machine. He picked up a magazine that was sitting in a basket on the countertop and opened up to the section about him. He had to keep up with his own image, obviously.

* * * 

Back in the kitchen, everyone was lying around on various couches and chairs, watching T.V, reading books, tickling Bucky (*cough* *cough* Steve *cough*), or quietly talking. Nothing too exciting. Bruce had woken up and joined everyone, and he and his salt-and-peppered wings were sitting next to Steve and Bucky, who both gave him a “good morning,” Steve with words and Bucky with him an Eskimo kiss. Bucky was actually surprisingly affectionate after he re-learned that there were ways to touch people without hurting them, and Steve and Bruce were very often the receivers of that affection. Clint loved to tease about it, and even though Natasha would tell him to shut it, she would also wear an amused smile whenever she saw Bucky running his fingers through Steve’s feathers or when Bruce relaxed after Bucky wove an arm around his waist. 

It was all about the little things. 

Natasha, at the moment, was looking over a book that she had found after she had done some light snooping around her rooms, because who knew what Tony had hidden all around his house. It was a book about the beginnings of man, complete with rank classifications, the differences in feathers, how the dynamics came into play in their evolution, and drawings that compared the genitalia of Alphas to the genitalia of Betas to the oh-so-objectified genitalia of the rare and reclusive Omega. Natasha got a little upset when she saw how the Omega in the drawings was always covered up, while the Alphas strutted around without any clothing whatsoever.

Never mind that they were 3rd-century Greek carvings.  
As a female Alpha, Natasha had felt the pressures of society before when the conservatives of the world claimed “only males can be Alphas because the males are the protecters of the house. Females can’t be Alphas because the females need to be the ones to care for the children. It’s unnatural.” Natasha had almost never paid attention to the naysayers until she was put in the public eye as an Avenger. No one ever really attacked her because hello, armed-and-dangerous assassin, but she could feel it, the confused eyes, the sneers, the few who actually used her name during conservative vs liberal protests as a way to show how weird being a “female Alpha” was. And then her name again when the Liberals would shout out “she’s a person, just like you and me! Who gives a shit about her orientation?” Being a symbol was a kind of attention that Natasha wasn’t used to. 

But Omegas, she supposed that they had put up with that for a very long time, with or without their say in it. Rank and dynamic rights had only been a recent fight since it started only when Omegas starting to speak out against the unjust treatment, and then it spiraled from there into Beta Rights, then into Alpha rights, then into the EVERYBODY SHOULD GET EQUAL RIGHTS posters that the Liberals loved to paste onto the sides of buildings. Natasha would sometimes see one, and when she did, she chuckled. It was a cause she could get behind. 

While Natasha continued reading the book, Thor conversed with Clint over whether or not having a landing balcony was really necessary, since it was a pretty easy way into Avengers Tower, but Clint defended the notion that having a landing balcony deceased that chance that a person flying in after a fight would not have to think to terribly hard about flying through a small door and possibly miss and fall to his or her death. Plus, they made great sniping points. 

Bruce, Bucky, and Steve were talking about one thing or another, and Natasha took a moment to wonder what Tony had gotten into for a whole forty minutes. Her instincts to find a possibly in-danger nest mate were kicking in, but she pulled herself together. It was Tony’s building, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and he could handle himself. He was probably just out fixing the cables or something. The Alpha would be… fine.

* * *  
Tony was looking back at his reflection in the mirror with the fresh coat of dye, feeling pretty smug about his new feathers, which was a nice change form the tinge of uncomfortableness and nausea that sat beneath his skin: the start of a heat. Tony resisted the urge to scream out in frustration, but that wasn’t a new feeling. He threw on a pair of jeans and a work tee shirt and walked over to the landing balcony on his floor. He took a deep breath and watched the city for a few moments before taking a tentative step off the edge of the platform. Tony held his breath as he free-fell into the New York air. It was so exhilarating, watching the floors race in front of his eyes, catching glances of people inside, and Tony loved the rush. 

After several moments of falling, Tony lifted his wings out and speedily glided around the building. Feeling an air current, he grinned and let it carry him all the way around his tower. He soared past the window attached to the room that everyone had been eating breakfast in, and when Thor waved at him, he smiled. Circling down to the third floor, Tony felt the current lessen, and he dropped down to his workshop landing spot. He really hoped that no on came to visit him. During his heats he wasn’t very pleasant. 

Well, that, and robots didn’t have a very strong sense of smell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it was shorter, but be happy!
> 
> Fanfic recommendation: oh don't you look back, just keep your eyes on me. Another Omegaverse, but with Alpha females and a lot of Omega males. And the sex scenes are just... ahhhhh... *drools over laptop*


	3. Reading into a Scream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony does something a little out of the ordinary, and Natasha could be onto something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEE! NEW CHAPTER!

Steve and Bruce were still talking on the couch up in the breakfast-eating-area, while Clint was stretching and extending his wings, preparing for a quick morning flight, and Natasha was washing the few dishes that the team had used. Thor and Bucky had disappeared to God-knows-where, but hey, they were grown men, and Alphas at that. Steve had to crush the little nagging feeling to get up and find them both, just to make sure they were okay. Alpha instincts were a bitch, especially when they took over around other Alphas. In the same ways that it made the team a formidable enemy, it also had to potential to be a very dangerous situation. Alphas that were set against each other could make life a living hell for anyone and everyone involved. If it was coupled with any kind of sexual frustration or tension than it could get even messier, even faster. Not like there wasn’t plenty of that already.

Steve had been sorta-kinda-maybe Head Alpha when he was named leader of the Avengers, but that insecure placement left room for conflict now and again. Steve and Thor butted heads most commonly, albeit rarely, which often led to Steve raising his voice a little too much and having Thor pretending to threaten, and then the wings would go up. Although each Alpha in the team tried to keep the wings displays to a minimum, sometimes those steel nerves and iron promises failed, and angry performances could not be avoided. And when that happened, it was usually sorted out with minimal effort. Usually. 

* * *

Steve smelled Thor come in before he heard him, but when he did, the first thing he heard was a very loud door slam that made Steve wince, wings jumping up, then groan, wings now lowered in vexed defeat. 

“Thor, please don’t slam the doors,” Steve whined maturely. Thor rolled his eyes and flipped his wings.

“My apologies. It is not a fault of mine that I am strong, or that you are so sensitive of hearing.” And, of course, Steve, for whatever stupid reason, didn’t want to put up with shit today. He growled low in his chest, not loud, but a definite warning.

“It’s not that you’re too strong, Thor. You’re just not very careful. I can’t count the amount of times Tony and I have told you to not rip doors from their hinges.” Now fairly annoyed, Steve didn’t realize how his snowy wings were beginning to lift up, feathers bristling. 

“Listen here, I can understand Tony’s concerns, as this is his home, but I see no reason as to why you dote on my entrances. I do not need to be cared for like a fledgling,” Thor retorted, wings imitating Steve’s. 

As the two Alphas’ eyes raked up and down each other, Natasha’s finely tuned nose picked on the spiciness of angry-Alpha pheromones and turned her head away from the dishes she was washing. As soon as she saw Steve, arms crossed and wings stiff, and Thor, hands curled into loose fists at his sides, wings flared and stiff, she rolled her eyes and sighed. 

“What now, you two?” she asked, prepared to hear something ridiculous. 

“Thor is slamming doors again.”

“Steve is being rather motherly.”

Natasha mentally face-palmed herself, and her wings twitched in annoyance. These idiots would kill each other one day over whether or not the sky is blue (which, according to Thor, wasn’t actually true. That was a doozy for Steve.) She very slowly put away the last of the dishes to avoid breaking bones and walked over to the face-off. As the female Alpha stalked over, arms crossed, both Steve and Thor dropped their wings before Natasha started pulling feathers. She stared both of them in the eyes, one at a time, and breathed. 

“Thor, no more slamming the damn doors. Steve, stop the—.”

“WHO THE FUCK IS SLAMMING DOORS!” 

* * * 

Tony had been peacefully working in his shop, trying to figure out how to improve the suits that the team used for battles because he hadn’t done that in a while and if they were going to live in his house, they were going to wear what he wanted them to wear, dammit! But as he was jotting down a revolutionary new suit for Steve (pardon the pun), he heard the unmistakable sound of a door being slammed into its frame, which on any other day, depending on the loudness, would have bothered Tony minimally. Normally it wouldn’t even have been worth two seconds of Tony’s beautiful, precious time. But, as soon as he heard the sound, he couldn’t help but see red.

And really, he should have thought this through more, well, thoroughly. 

Next thing Tony knew, he was at the scene of the crime, screaming at the top of his lungs over fucking nothing. It was a slammed door, and it wasn’t even slammed very hard! What the hell, Tony! How was this worthy of a freak-out and extreme wing flare? When he actually stopped and looked at the scene played out in front of him, with Steve’s, Natasha’s, and Thor’s faces all shocked, wings flared all the way out in complete and utter surprise, Tony felt absolutely sick. How the hell was he supposed to talk his way out of this one, especially when he was in his heat brain? How would he even begin to explain this? 

Beginning to panic, Tony tried to breathe, feeling his wings begin to drop. The redness in his eyes began to drain into his cheeks, and the only word he could think of was “sorry,” sorry that he had burst in on them, sorry that he was so irritable and dumb, sorry that he was a failure, sorry that he was lying to them about being an Alpha (even if that was what everyone assumed and no one technically asked about it), sorry that he had angered them. He was so, so sorry. Thank god he was able to recognize that line of thought as his heat brain. But that was the only word filling his brain. What other choice did he have? 

“Oh, God. Sorry, guys. I don’t know what happened, I just… That was, uh, was overreactive. I didn’t mean…” Awkward pause. There was barely even breathing. Finally, Tony sighed, “I’ll just go.” And with that, Tony escaped back to the landing balcony and took off, not even bothering to look behind him. No matter how deep the holes being drilled into his back by two pairs of blue eyes and one pair of green, he would not turn around. He had said he was sorry. Done. 

He should not have left the workshop. 

* * *   
As the three Alphas watched the kestral-winged man exit the room, two were blown away, one was relatively surprised, but all were extremely confused. What just happened? Mood swings weren’t exactly Tony’s thing, except maybe when liquor was involved, but, as far as anyone could tell, Tony hadn’t had any scotch-y smell nor a scotch bottle in his hand, so that was ruled out. He had obviously been tinkering, at least if the oily shirt and torn jeans were anything to go by, but what could have gotten him so worked up that he would find the need to blow a blood vessel over a slammed door? 

Not even Natasha had any ideas, and, frankly, she didn’t want to push the subject. Tony was having a bad day, it was that simple. Yet, when she took a deep breath to try and clear her mind, she caught the smell of something very, very distinct. Behind the spicy-sour of anger, there was a hint of something else, something sweeter and more friendly, something that Natasha was afraid to identify. But again, she didn’t want to push it. It didn’t matter that the smell felt like coming home. 

 

* * *

Later that night, Tony was stilled holed up in the workshop, contemplating how to make the StarkPad more efficient by using solar power instead of the normal charging station as well as how the hell he was going to face the three Alphas after what he had done today. Part of his deeply embedded Omega brain hoped that his team members were as confused by it as he was so he could be sympathized with, but the rational part of the rest of him hoped that everyone had completely forgotten about it and he could prove to himself that there was nothing to worry about. He fucking hated his heats. How could he get anything done? 

However, in the back of Tony’s genius brain, he absentmindedly wondered about what he was doing to his body by suppressing so much of his natural instincts and functions. Once in a long, long while, Tony would sometimes wonder about how life would be different if he had chosen to stay Omega, or at least was open about it. Would he have a mate? A flock? A… home?

But such thoughts were often banished from his head before they actually seemed possible. 

* * *

Downstairs, a quiet dinner was being held by all the other occupants of Avengers Tower. It was mac-n’-cheese night, Clint’s specialty and Natasha’s favorite, and if Natasha was happy, then everyone was happy. Except tonight. She was still hung up on the outburst that Tony had had earlier in the day, and although she hadn’t told anyone about it, everyone still seemed to pick up the weird vibes that both Natasha and Steve were sending out. Thor had gotten over it much faster considering it wasn’t the first time, but quite possibly the last, that Tony had bitched to him about slamming doors. Finally, Clint just had to ask: “So, how was everyone’s day?”

“Nothing too crazy,” Bruce replied, a light smile on his face and Bucky ran his fingers through the white and black wings. “Still messing around with gamma rays like I shouldn’t be.” A chuckle was earned from somewhere in the room. 

“Found another sweet sniping spot today, the skyskraper right next to Ronald’s Diner. It had almost no wind and I got a great view. And guess what, Thor?” Thor looked up. “It’s a landing balcony.” 

Thor rolled his eyes. “I still stand by my reasons with honor.” Clint only smirked.

“Nothing to report,” Steve said lazily, making Bucky smile. 

Natasha sighed. “Tony had an outburst over the door today. No idea what caused it, but it was very… interesting.”

Clint furrowed his brow. “An outburst? Like a panic attack? I have a hard time believing that.” 

Natasha shook her head, feathers swishing as shifted her weight from side to side. “No. He just threw the door open and screamed ‘who’s slamming doors?’”

“And then he apologized,” chipped in Steve. Natasha nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, so? Hasn’t Tony always been a little sensitive about how the doors are handled?” Bruce asked tentatively. Natasha shrugged. 

“I suppose so.” And that was the end. 

Clint, suspicious of why Natasha was so concerned about this one incident, stared. He watched her stare out the window and get that one faraway look in her eyes, the one that signified a deeper thought process taking place. Natasha was trying to make sense, and as an Alpha, not knowing exactly what was going on was bothered her more than she liked to admit. Deep down, she hoped that there wasn’t something wrong, and her little Alpha instincts began to rear themselves up again. 

More often than not, she kind of wondered about why she felt so obligated to watch over Tony, know his habits, learn his mannerisms, until she could predict what he would say. Whenever she heard something new from Clint or Thor, it wasn’t as surprising, but with Tony, it was shocking. Why? What about Tony was so necessary to protect?

Still watching Natasha’s eyes stare out the window, Clint made a note to ask her about whatever it was that was bothering her later. It seemed important. 

Steve, the Alpha he was, was also stuck on why Tony’s outburst stuck with him throughout the day. It was nagging him, like an itch that he couldn’t locate, let alone scratch. Normal, level-headed Tony hardly ever screamed at people (at himself, sure, but never like he had today). And that apology, it was so apologetic. It was almost submissive, like an… Omega. 

Get your head out of your ass, Rogers. Like Tony could ever be an Omega. 

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I wrote this in a bout of inspriation, and I barely checked for spelling and, like, actual quality of the content. But I owe you guys a chapter, so here, have it, take it, I made this for you!
> 
> P.S. I actually have the smallest bit of smut planned for the next chapter! Stay tuned!


	4. Teasers get Teased Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wings are groomed, Tony's still upset, and Clint gets some action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter... Just wait. You'll see. 
> 
> Hint: Beta males can get wet, too.

After showering off the dripping dye, Tony again stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes starting to burn with tears. He still couldn’t get over about how badly he had snapped. Three more days of this heat-brain shit? He was going to die… But he thought like that during every suppressed heat he had ever had, and deep in his mind he knew that it would eventually pass. It was just hard to put up with it, and even harder to recognize it during the heat itself. Just like he had always known, he was quite the bitch during that time of the month, some months more than others, and he tried his best to stay away from his teammates while he was “under the influence.” And the reason he did was because of the show that he had put on that day. Tony sighed. Sleep probably wouldn’t come tonight. 

* * *  
After the dishes were cleared and everyone was settled about the room, wings were puffed out and the grooming began. Bruce and Bucky had barely moved from their previous spot on the couch, Bucky’s rough, well-trained hands gliding through Bruce’s dappled feathers with a learned ease. Steve was preening his own wings, the pallid feathers regaining their velvet sheen after a day of work. Over on the other couch, Clint was sitting on the floor while Thor caressed his sea-foam wings, working out the mats and stuck-together-feathers. Natasha stood against the wall, lightly running her fingertips over the scarlet feathers on the ends of her wings in an extremely practiced motion. 

Back in the days of her full-time job as a spy, Natasha had no one to help her with neither her mission nor her wings, and she had become quite efficient at grooming herself. She had always been more comfortable when she did it instead. She glanced over at the people grouped around each other, lazy smiles and happy, light, flowery pheromones, and she smiled. It was quite beautiful, seeing her flock, her team, her family together. It just made her inner Alpha all kinds of happy. 

But she couldn’t help but feel as though a little part was missing, more specifically a part that would be filled by kestrel-colored wings and a snarky attitude. 

* * *  
Tony could hear everyone a few floors up, the laughing, the talking. How much more longing and self-alienation was he willing to force upon himself until he finally gave up or gave out? Tony sighed. Heat-brain reared its ugly head once again, but fewer tears fell than before. It would be over soon. Tony returned to his work, making adjustments to the metal wing coverings that were part of the Ironman suit. They needed a little work. 

* * *  
Somehow, someway, Natasha was persuaded by Clint to let him get the feathers that she couldn’t reach. When he commented on her agreeability, she responded “I’m feeling momentarily generous.” While skilled fingers ran though her wings, she let herself zone out. That is until Clint decided to get a little cheeky and ran his fingers along the bones that were beneath sensitive under-feathers, looking for something. Natasha recognized the motion, but wasn’t opposed to it. Clint would get what was coming to him. She felt him getting closer to what she suspected he was after, and when he reached it, she breathed out a bored sigh. You have to try harder than that, Barton. 

Finding one of Natasha’s oil glands, Clint grinned minutely. It was one of his favorite weak points on Natasha, and tonight, he felt brave. He brought his index finger and thumb to the gland and rubbed it, caressing the soft, round nub. He fondly remembered the ruts Natasha had had with him, when her glands were leaking and swollen and ultra sensitive, when she, if he was careful, would let him touch them and spread her spicy-sweet scent all over him, and he would smell like her for days afterwards. He loved it. But it seemed that Natasha was going to make it work for him this time. She had barely seemed to acknowledge the actions. However, Clint wasn’t going to give up just yet. Like he said, he felt brave. 

Natasha felt Clint touch her on one of the most sensitive parts for her body, rubbing in very small circles, but she just controlled her breathing, refusing to let irregular gulps of air give away her pleasure at the attention. Soon enough her pheromones would have the attention of room anyway, but why give it away now? She just let Clint have his fun. 

Clint sensed Natasha’s breathing become for controlled, and he could tell she was counting to five between inhales and exhales. Yeah, she was feeling it. And yeah, he was, too. He could smell Natasha’s paprika-spiciness and her dark, almost flowery-sweetness, like that of an orchid. He could feel it cling to him in the way that only Alpha arousal did, and the scent was making him all kinds of horny because he knew what would happen if that scent was kept around. He knew it was only a matter if time before he also started projecting his scent of baking bread and warm milk with a hint of clay, a scent which not even he knew where it came from, and it would take over the room like Natasha’s aroma was. 

And it certainly wasn’t going unnoticed. 

Most, if not all, of the noise and shuffling in the room had ceased, and Clint could feel Thor’s eyes burning into his back, the blue beginning to disappear and be replaced by a black hole. Clint knew better than to turn around; if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have complete control over what happened next. Instead, he glanced around the room. 

Steve was still meticulously grooming himself and ignoring, or at least pretending to ignore, the exchanges happening. Bucky’s movements on Bruce had become more gentle and more directed to certain, markedly sensitive parts of the salt-and-peppered wings instead of focused on simply getting rid of stray feathers. Bruce looked half asleep, and Clint considered stopping. He would feel guilty if Bruce was left out of sexytimes, even if he wasn’t really feeling it tonight, but ceasing his strokes on Natasha would not have desirable affects. So, Clint continued on with his motions. Bruce had the freedom to say yes or no. 

By now, Natasha, Clint, and Thor were all busting out a lot of pheromones; Steve had looked up and over at the scene playing out in front of him, and he grinned. Bucky had also caught wind of the obvious beginning of an orgy. He reached a little farther into Bruce’s wings, but Bruce yawned. After the intake of air, he also got a noseful of arousal, and he made movements that signified that he was ready to get up, and Bucky let him. Bruce looked down at Bucky and smiled. 

“Thanks, James.” When Bucky frowned at him, he made an announcement to the room at large. “G’night.” Only Steve and Bucky were able to answer him, but Bruce didn’t mind. There were no hard feelings. 

Now it was all about Clint. 

Natasha, who was finally done with the foreplay-like teasing, felt as though it was time for Clint to get his just desserts. She reached her hands up and grabbed the ones fiddling with her glands because she really didn’t want to get wing oil off the carpet, no matter what kind of awesome memories they rekindled. She folded her wings close to her body and swiftly turned around so she was face to face with her antagonizer. When her green globes penetrated (hehehe) his blue ones, Clint may or may not have nearly flinched. Natasha’s eyes were intense, and it certainly didn’t help that they were more black than green, or that Thor was rubbing the tips of Clint’s wings, which always made him all tingly, OR that he was the only turned-on Beta in a room full of incredibly turned-on Alphas. 

Clint could smell every individual scent, and he knew that he was pumping out just as many pheromones as they were, but it was both slightly frightening and incredibly arousing that he was encircled by four Alphas. While he and Natasha stared each other down, slowly becoming closer, Clint heard both Bucky and Steve get up and move to where he was, Steve sitting on the couch next to Thor and Bucky sitting next to Natasha. Clint’s eyes met Bucky’s just as Thor hit a particularly sensitive feather, and Clint took a sharp breath. It was then Natasha leaned forward the rest of the way to press her lips on Clint’s. 

Kissing Natasha had always felt euphoric. Clint had know her the longest, and he had spent a lot of time with her, so, naturally, when her lips met hers, he groaned in satisfaction. He felt her smile against him, and he laughed a little. She went back to kissing him, but soon Clint would have many other places to focus. 

Thor and Steve had taken the moment to each claim one of Clint’s wings and began to explore. Clint observed the differences, in hands, in technique, and couldn’t help but get turned on by all of it. Steve’s softer, gentler hands had started to pay attention of the fluffy down on Clint’s inner wing, and having Steve run his hands through the fluff was turning Clint’s mind into mush. Thor was running his hand closer and closer to where the sea-foam wings joined with Clint’s muscular shoulder blades, a place where Clint was very sensitive. In fact, Clint jumped and gasped when Thor put his hands directly between his shoulder blades, and Natasha took that moment to move from Clint’s mouth and down Clint’s neck, where she began mouthing at a very particular spot: the bond spot, in the area of the collarbones, and when Natasha rested her mouth there, she almost flinched at Clint’s pheromone spike. Oddly flattered, she kissed his collarbones, his shoulder, then back up his neck, where her tongue flitted out and licked up Clint’s jugular in one broad sweep. And, OH, did that do something for Clint. In an act of submission, he tilted his chin up, letting Natasha have her way. 

But he also opened up space for another hungry mouth.

As soon as Clint offered himself, Bucky found a place beside Natasha and began to lick as well, his tongue tracing over the veins on Clint’s neck, and he reveled in the high-pithced sighs that made him that much more ready to fuck Clint into the floor. At least, if Natasha didn’t beat him to it. Clint’s whole body tingled with arousal and stimulation. He tried to hold in his gasps and heavy breathing and light moans, but they were pulled out of him one by one, lick by lick, touch by touch. As Natasha continued to push all of Clint’s buttons, Bucky lifted his head just a low moan pushed it’s way out of the archer’s mouth. The chuckle that followed was so low that it sounded like a growl. 

“So good, aren’t you? You like being touched like this, all over, by all your Alphas?” Clint was about to say something, but Thor actually touched the skin that connected the wings to the shoulders.

“Ah… Hya… AH-HAH!” Clint moaned. Bucky just gave him an extremely feral grin. 

“Thought so. You must be soaked right now. How wet are you, Clint? How wet are you for your Alphas?” Bucky reached under the archer to investigate, his fingers tracing the round rise of his rump and strong cords of muscle in his legs. When he finally reached the archer’s entrance and pressed a finger to it, the baking bread and milk scent spiked again, Clint’s quivering wings arching up in pleasure and surprise, pushing oil-damped wings in Thor’s and Steve’s faces. Thor pulled his face away to get a breath, but Steve buried his nose into the feathers, determined to get more of the pheromones that were making him feel so Alpha-like. That he was doing this to Clint. That Clint was coming undone because he was touching him. That Clint was in so much pleasure because Steve knew what he was doing. 

And if that didn’t make Steve’s chest puff out in pride, then nothing ever would. 

“Ngh… Hah… Nnnh…” Clint, now on overload, was starting to moan a little louder, but it didn’t hit the cresendo until Steve sucked on a feather. SUCKED on it! “Ah… Uhh… NYAH! Oh, G-god… S-Steve? Hah…! Ergh…” The sensation of feeling Steve’s tongue on his sopping wet feathers was making Clint’s skin feel on fire, as well as the tingle, which was now incurably intense. His whole body was screaming “yes!” and his brain had turned off quite a while ago. Yet, as Bucky returned to his neck and Natasha held his face in her hands and began to swallow his moans, Clint could feel the end coming. Beginning to see the white lights behind his eyes, Clint tried to move, twitch, jump up, do something, but Thor caressed the sopt between his shoulders again and Clint’s body was rendered even more useless. The pheromones in the room had him almost pinned down against his will, and all he could do was take it. Finally, Thor decided to try Steve’s idea and licked between Clint’s shoulder blades. 

Clint whited out with a low, long moan. 

* * *  
Tony tried to tune out the sound of the Alphas (his Alphas, his heat-brain kept supplying) all night long, but, as much as Clint tried to deny it, Clint was quite verbal. 

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Alphas fucking Clint and not you. Get up there and beg for it like you should be, especially after what you did today. If they knew you were an Omega, they would have kicked your ass for sure, but maybe that’s all you need to be put back to rights. Submit, Tony. That’s all you have to do. Submit. Submit. Submit…

Tony fucking hated his heat-brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I'd give you a little smut, right? Sorry if it's not what you were expecting, but it's still pretty smexy... And Don't worry, Bruce will get a moment. And yes, in my universe, Betas, both male and female, lubricate. However, males lubricate if they are the submissive in the relationship. 
> 
> Next chapter, Tony will definitely be more in the story, but I said there will be smut, so, here is the smut!


	5. Scenting Tony Stark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha catches another whiff, and Tony gets bad news and a talking to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea! New Chapter! I got this done a little early because Unicornkatt warmed my heart with her comment, and I promised her that I would update a little early for her. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The next morning, Tony finally finished the tinkering on the wing part of his suit, and he felt it necessary to sigh and sit back heavily in his oily armchair with his oily wings and close his eyes for a few minutes. He rubbed his forehead with a dirty hand and, for a moment, felt okay. Really okay. Like everything just might turn around in the end. But, the pulsing want all over his body kept reminding him. Oh, God. Tony stretched and felt the bones in his body crack satisfyingly back into place, his wings stretching up. 

However, Tony cringed when he felt his wing oil slide down his feathers, taking off the dye as it did. Opening his eyes, Tony glanced at the floor of his workshop. All over, there were blueish-blackish and blueish-whitish spots. Tony frowned. He hadn’t kept up with his dye well enough. He’d have to first, take a very cleansing shower because oh, my God, he could actually see his real feathers, and second, walk upstairs again to the common bathroom on the same level as the kitchen and get the scent neutralizer and the wing oil cleaner and erase all evidence.

The only problem was that if someone saw him, he didn’t exactly have a decent explanation. Maybe he was just cleaning up the workshop and found some oil on the table from when he hadn’t emerged from the workshop to take a shower because duh, obviously he needed to work on other, for more important things and… Yeah, good plan, Tony. Now, you just got to do it. Glancing at the clock, which read 5:13 am, he figured he had enough time to get everything done before Natasha got up at 7:00.

Tony pulled himself up and went to complete his mental checklist of survival. 

* * *  
Natasha blinked the sleep out of her eyes as the sun peaked through the windows. She stretched, wings coming up and over and almost touching the ceiling, then falling back down. When one blue-and-scarlet wing rested upon flesh, Natasha looked over and saw Clint in her bed, breathing softly, still very much asleep. She smiled, the Alpha in her smug, and she ran her thumb along Clint’s jawline. Her smile began to match her Alpha smugness, remembering the series of events that happened last night. That was fun. But then she groaned. The wing oil that Clint had produced last night was probably all over Tony’s carpet. She’d have to get that cleaned up soon. She pushed herself out of bed and walked into her bathroom, inspecting herself. After she had her hair brushed and pulled back and had run her hands through her slightly array feathers, Natasha walked down to the common floor, first awake as usual. 

In the kitchen, she set on making oatmeal, taking a deep breath to see if, by some miracle, there was someone else awake, and if there was any remnants of Clint’s, ahem, excitement. There was a little of Bruce’s metallic-coconut floating around, so Natasha suspected he had gotten up in the middle of the night for a snack, and yes, there was a strong concentration of Clint around the sitting area, so yes, she would need the cleaner. But there was another scent wafting in the air. Natasha would have never been able to smell it if she wasn’t concentrating on scenting, but it was there, and it was calling to her like a siren’s song. As the smell filled her nostrils, Natasha felt her wings rise up, higher and higher, until they touched the ceiling. 

Dying to investigate, Natasha set her stirring spoon down by the cooking oatmeal and followed her nose, out from the kitchen and through the hallway, into the bathroom. It was in here that the smell was strongest, and Natasha would be lying if she said she didn’t want to find whoever was making that smell and love and care and hold them forever. And it certainly didn’t help that the scent was the scent of baking bread, like Clint, and metallic-y, like Bruce, paired with really ripe fruit and the sweetness of a flower garden. Right at the bathroom door, her wings began to vibrate, and she was more turned on than normal Natasha would have admitted. Natasha threw open the bathroom door; there was no one there, but in that room, the smell was strongest.

Natasha opened the lower cabinets in the bathroom where the scent was extremely potent, and found that it was it was completely covering one thing: Ms. Marten’s All Natural, Earth Friendly Scent and Wing Oil Remover for All Surfaces. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows and her wings stiffened. How could someone with a smell like that want to cover it up? It was absolutely delicious! She stood up, now more confused than aroused, and her wings twitched as she wondered. She took another deep breath in thought, but she then noticed that the smell led out of the bathroom. She took another sniff, just to be sure, and followed her nose. 

Natasha followed the scent all the way down the hall and out to a landing balcony by the elevators, where it was lost to the New York City air. She tried not to be disappointed; she didn’t even know who it was, although she highly doubted that someone from the street would just walk into Avengers Tower and make a beeline towards the bathroom and not set off any alarms and manage to find exactly what they were looking for and return it, not to mention it was a very odd thing he or she was looking for. Still, she decided to take it up with Tony when he came up for air out of his workshop, just in case it was a security breach. You can never be too careful. 

* * *  
After his swift shower, Tony had raced upstairs, found the spray, cleaned his workshop a few times over, raced back down, and returned it. He was back in his workshop and doing something else by 6:06 am. Mission well done. He was just about to consider sleeping when a phone rang. Tony groaned and waited until the last ring before picking up. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, Mr. Stark,” called a voice for the other line. “This is Doctor Marlene. I need to speak to you immediately.” 

Scared by the urgency in her voice, Tony quickly found a seat. “What’s up, doc? Everything okay?” 

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Stark. Are you still using the scent suppressors that I sent you last week?”

Tony felt fear clench at his heart. “Yeah, what about ‘em?” he asked as nonchalantly as he could. 

“Well, it seems that particular batch was tainted. I ran several tests on them after I began to get calls about ineffectiveness, and somehow the factory messed up the alcohol amount. They aren’t working as they should.” Tony’s heart dropped. No, not now. Not ever! This shouldn’t— it can’t happen! Tony started to hyperventilate, terrified of what was to come, but Dr. Marlene spoke again. “I can try to see if I can duplicate to formula myself, but it could take a while and a half. Is there anyway you could hold on until next Friday?” 

A spring of hope grew in Tony’s chest. “Uh, I guess so. What day is it?”

“Thursday, May 25th.”

“Yeah, okay? But, hey, doc?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“Firstly, how many times have I told you to just call me Tony? You know my biggest life secret, so quit the formalities. And second, will the scent suppressors still work sort of?” There was a breath and a sigh on the other end. 

“It won’t be very effective, Tony, but yes, they will work if you need them. You just might be able to smell yourself.” Tony groaned. 

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Dr. Marlene chucked after Tony spoke. 

“Tony? If I may pry, why do you need them? From what I know, you are not being repressed or hunted down or stalked like my other patients. You have a good home, with people who care about you. Why do you hide yourself?” 

Tony, taken aback by the question, took a moment to think. Dr. Marlene may have only been his doctor, by she was the only other living person besides Pepper who knew his ranking, plus she was an Omega herself. Such circumstances generated trust. “Well, how do you think the world would react to an Omega being a world leader in green energy? Do you think I would still get the respect I have now? Or be as valued as an Avenger? It would change a lot.” 

“Oh, Tony,” Dr. Marlene sighed. “Don’t you know how much the world has changed? How much Omega rights have changed? Heck, you have The Female Alpha Crusades symbol living in your house! How do you think she feels when she goes under the public eye? The fight she inadvertently leads is much more controversial than yours.” 

“Yes, but female Alphas aren’t kept as slaves,” Tony argued. 

“But they are told they aren’t real people, that they’re anomalies, that they shouldn’t exist. You don’t led the only fight, Tony, and what’s even worse is that it’s a fight between your soul and your self, and your soul is losing. As much as I don’t believe in karma, I still think that this is the point where life goes, ‘Stop running.’ I think you might have a different fight coming toward you.” There was a long pause. 

Finally, Tony spoke. “I don’t believe in karma, either, but trust me, life threw me under the bus a long time ago, just in case you don’t remember Afghanistan.”

“Tony, I know that was a terrible thing that happened to you, but the chances of it happening again? So what, they found you and you’re an Omega? What if they found you and you were an Alpha? They probably wouldn’t have changed their agenda with you.” 

“But, because I was Omega, I was even more susceptible to their stupid fucking Alpha control!”

“I know, Tony, but it’s behind you! You killed them. They aren’t here anymore. You aren’t powerless just because you’re an Omega. Just because you wear dye on your wings and have scent suppressors out the ass doesn’t mean you are actually an Alpha. You’re still Omega, Tony, and no one can change that. You would be successful because you are Tony Stark, no matter what your orientation. You created Ironman because you are an Omega. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING AN OMEGA, TONY!” 

Tony froze, now surprised and kind of angry that his doctor was yelling at him, but she did have a bit of a point. He exhaled, “I know, Angela. But yelling at me isn’t going to make it better.” 

He then heard a very evil laugh from the other end of the speaker. “Then say goodbye to your scent suppressors.”

Tony chuckled. “I’m paying you too much for you to just not send them.”

Dr. Marlene actaully laughed. “You’re right. But, Tony, think about what I said. It’s nice out here in the wide, open air.”

“Bye, Angela.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Stark. Good luck, Omega.” 

Tony hung up, and then considered calling the other person who shared his secret, but he decided to call her after hours. Bothering Stark Industries CEO with feelings during business hours would end in his eventual death. 

At least, if his Alphas didn’t kill him for lying to them, first. 

Tony began to dread the next days of his heat when the scent was strongest. He would probably be found out. Well, better prepare for damages. Thor would probably end up slamming doors, Bucky would most likely punch another wall in, Natasha would send all of her ten knives his way, and Steve would break his punching bag record. 

Woo-dee-fucking-doo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a tad shorter, but get geared up! Shit's gonna go DOWN the next few chapters. 
> 
> And, yeah, Natasha is kinda the only one noticing any changes, but that will soon spread. She's just really perceptive and not as forgetful.
> 
> Excuse any spelling mistakes and stuffs! 
> 
> 'Kay, love ya!


	6. Weird Thoughts and Pepper Potts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha and Tony talk, but not to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is not the most exciting chapter ever, but this is one of the chapters that is needed so things can actually get moving. Brace yourself, I write a few of these fillers from time to time, so expect the conversation with Pepper, Steve and Bucky and Bruce getting in on the Tony issue, and someone else smelling the scent in the next chapter.
> 
> Stay with me, even if you hate these kinds of chapters!

Sitting at the kitchen table, Natasha chewed her spoon. She still couldn’t think about who could have been in Avengers Tower without setting off the multitude of alarms, not to mention he or she didn’t take any one of the multitude of valuables that were littered all over Tony’s home. She took another breath through her nose; the smell had dissipated. It hadn’t been very strong to begin with—more of a faint shadow of a scent than anything else—but, nevertheless, Natasha’s sensitive nose had picked it up, and her Alpha wanted answers. But, before she could put more thought into finding out who it was, Clint came strolling in, feathers a complete mess and eyes just barely open, and found the coffeemaker. It beeped on and sputtered as Clint made his coffee, and Natasha smiled. Tony could work wonders. He slide into the seat next to her and grumbled. 

“Well, good morning to you, too. Sleep well?” Natasha asked. 

“M-hmm. Fine,” Clint answered groggily. Natasha rolled her eyes. 

“I hope you realize that you don’t have to get up right after me. It’s only about 7:30,” Natasha said, but Clint just rolled his eyes in return.

“I’m a grown man, I will torture myself by waking up at 7:30 if I want to.” 

Natasha sighed, and in turn caught a whiff of last night seeping from the carpet. She grinned. “I thought that after a night like last night, you’d still be sleeping.” She watched Clint’s cheeks get slightly redder than normal, his eyes turned down. 

“Shut up” was all Clint could come up with. Natasha’s grin turned lighter. 

“And you started it, punk. You think I didn’t know that you wanted me to pounce you after you fiddled with my wings?” Natasha was only teasing, her voice now higher and more playful, and Clint just smirked back at her. 

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t love it,” he chuckled. 

“I’m not. But now I have to clean the mess on Tony’s expensive, angora rabbit, if-you-get-anything-on-it-I-will-kill-you carpet.”

“Did he ever really say that?” Clint asked, playful questioning in his voice.

“I doubt it, but we can assume he won’t like wing oil all over it.” 

Clint nodded his head in agreement. Tony usually told them to be careful about spreading sexual fluids all over his multi-billion dollar home. Natasha couldn’t help but think about how Tony hardly ever indulged in anything sexual in their flock. After social outings and galas and gatherings and the like, he would usually bring somebody home with him, usually female Betas with long, straight hair and tiny waists and too-high-heels, and they would be gone before Natasha got up in the morning. 

Briefly, Natasha considered if that’s who was in the bathroom last night, but Tony had been binging in his workshop for the last two or three days, so that was very unlikely. And Natasha could always tell when it was one of Tony’s one-night-stands because each of the women smelled like fancy, similar-smelling perfumes and hairspray with a very slight undertone of their real scent, and the best scent that Natasha had ever smelled wasn’t even close to the scent that was stuck around the bathroom. So, that idea was tossed. Her wings vibrated in annoyance and confusion. Natasha couldn’t think of many more scenarios that had no loose ends or filled all the variables. A couple were plausible, a few were ridiculous and involved aliens, and one was concerning at best. Natasha really didn’t know.

Clint watched Natasha get the faraway look in her eyes, and he put a hand on her shoulder. He had promised himself that he would talk to Natasha about what had been on her mind so much lately. 

“Hey, what’s bothering you?” Clint asked, looking into Natasha eyes. She sighed, wings dropping but still shaking. 

“Tony,” she said flatly. 

“Okay, what about him?”

“His actions.”

“What actions?”

“His actions that are making me question things.”

“What actions and how are they making you question things?” Clint took his time with Natasha. Opening up wasn’t her greatest strength. When she glared at him and flared her wings, he kept a straight face and let his wings remain neutral. Natasha soon realized that he wasn’t going away, and she relented. 

“The outburst that he had over the slammed door. I don’t know why it’s bugging me so much, but that was just so not like Tony. Outbursts aren’t really his thing. And, I’m confused over why I find it so necessary to protect him, even when he obviously can care for himself.” When Natasha made a gesture about the size of the room they were in, Clint nodded his head in agreement, but then put on a pout, wings drooping to match. 

“You don’t find it necessary to protect me? Or Bruce? Or Bucky when he gets a little, you know,” and Clint made a gulping motion that eked a smile out of Natasha. Bucky had gotten wasted a couple times, and when he did, he went from a slightly touchy killing machine to an ultra-cuddly puppy who would not ever let go of Steve, no matter what he was bribed with. Sometimes transferring Bucky to Bruce would work, and other times Thor, oddly enough, could keep Bucky occupied with stories specifically about weird animals. No one knew why, but it did the trick, even when Thor complained about Bucky falling asleep in the middle of his stories. Smiling at the memories, Natasha turned back to Clint.

“I do, really. But it’s different with Tony. It’s like…” A pause. “I don’t even know how to describe it.” Another pause. “I want to care for him. I want to bring him food and I want him to be safe. I want him to know that he’s safe with us, but it’s also more than that. I want him to be comfortable with us as a flock, as a family. It’s really odd.” Natasha’s eyes moved to look at the remnants of her bowl. It still didn’t really make sense to her.

Meanwhile, Clint was at a loss for words for several moments, however he did finally speak. “Well, I can see why you’d want him to be comfortable with us because we are a team and becoming a flock, and I can also get the thing where you want him to be safe, but your need to see it all happen? To control it? That’s what’s got me.” Natasha sighed again. 

“It’s got me, too. I don’t feel that way about anyone else on this team save for you and Bruce, but even then I know that you are able to take care of yourselves. With Tony, I want to make sure that he’s okay, even when—.”

“Is Anthony not well? I seem to hear distress.” Thor’s voice came from the door entrance, and Natasha’s head and wings snapped up when she heard it. He walked into the kitchen area and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl, but his eyes remained on Natasha and Clint, searching for an answer, wings loose at his sides. 

“We’re just… Well, I’m still thinking about Tony,” Natasha answered. 

“You are straining yourself over Anthony’s well-being? Why?” Thor asked, wings perking up in concern. 

Natasha sighed. “I’m still thinking about Tony’s door slam reaction. I’ve never seen him that bent out of shape before, even on his bad days.”

Thor nodded. “Yes, well, I have been reprimanded by Tony many times, and I must agree that none of those times were as dramatic as yesterday’s display. You believe something is vexing Tony?”

“Yes, I do. And what’s worse is that I don’t think Tony would say anything. He never has.” Natasha ended her sentence with a shrug, but there were many more emotions than uncertainty. Something strange was going about in the tower, and Natasha had a hunch that Tony was inevitably tied to it. Of course he was. 

Tony rarely missed a chance to noticed.

* * * (Fast-Forward from Morning to Late Afternoon-Early Evening)

Tony listened to his machines purr around him, peaceful and tranquil, but his mind wasn’t nearly as calm. All he could think about was how is scent was now going to leak into every corner of the tower, how he would be found out, and how his world would be turned upside-down and twisted 360 degrees. Maybe if he was lucky, he could come up with an explanation, but what explanation could he possibly conjure up? His scent would lead to questions that he would have to answer, questions about things he’d been covering up since he was 20 years old, years before Afghanistan and with the help of his father, with dye and suppressants and scent blockers. And if Steve and Natasha and Bucky and Thor (and possibly Bruce) had anything to say about it (and of course they would), they would demand that he would get off all of the suppressors and get rid of the wing dye immediately. They’d lose all respect for him, as well as thier trust. He’s get kicked off the Avengers team andandandand. 

Stop, Tony thought. Stop it. Cut that shit out, Stark. Tony stretched himself out on his chair and blinked hot tears out of his eyes. Before he reached over to look at his cell phone for the time, 4:57 pm, to see if he could call Pepper, he took a deep breath, and when he did, he froze. It was just as Dr. Marlene said. 

He could smell himself. 

It was warm and doughy with a pinch of metal, but the flowery-fruity smell that he also possessed was on full blast due to his heat, heat that he didn’t like going through ever and he was alone why was he alone and oh, my god, what the hell is that wrench doing out of place andandandand. Tony took another deep breath. 

Fuck whether or not Stark Industries closed in two hours. He needed to talk to Pepper, right now. 

Ring. Ring. Ri—. 

“You better have a damn good reason to interrupt me in the middle of the work day, Tony,” snipped Pepper.

“Good to hear your voice, too, Ms. Potts,” Tony replied very bureaucratically. “As much as I wish this call had good intentions, I believe I have some rather irking news.”

“Oh, God no, what building do I have to insure?”

Tony laughed dryly. “Uh, no, Pepper. That’s not exactly it.” 

“Well, what is it? I don’t have a lot of time to play twenty questions with you, Tony,” replied Pepper, fatigue in her voice. 

“Well, I got a call from Dr. Marlene today, and, well, I’ve got a problem.”

“Oh, God, Tony, are you okay? Is anything wrong with you? Do I need to help you in any way?” Good ol’ Alpha Pepper, with her big ol’ vibrant, pink, black-tipped wings. 

“No, I’m perfectly fine,” Tony said, rolling his eyes at Pepper’s sudden over-protectiveness, one thing on his list of “Reasons why being the only Omega isn’t the most ideal situation.” It was a very important thing. “She just called to tell me that my scent suppressors are tainted and I might start to fill the Tower with my actual stink, so I’m just downstairs, in the shop, freaking out because heat brain and stress and issues and I yelled at Thor and Natasha and Steve yesterday over fucking nothing and I—.”

“Tony!”

Tony blinked. “Yeah?” 

“It’s okay, we will talk about this when I get out of work, got it? I’ll even bring that one Raspberry Hill wine you like,” Pepper said, calm and soothing and made Tony all kinds of happy that he had Pepper as a friend. Tony smiled, wings draped over the side of the chair. 

“Thanks, Pep.”

He couldn’t see it, but he could tell that she was smiling on the other end. “You’re welcome, Tony. And you know, if you do need a heat partner—.”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Pep. We can cross that bridge if we get to it, okay? I don’t even know how this first mess is going to work out.”

“Yes, Tony. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay. Bye, Pep.” Click. 

Tony sighed. The first step had been taken: Acquire a Friend to Drink and Complain with. 

* * *

The second Steve saw Pepper walk into Stark Tower and make a bee-line for Tony’s workshop, he knew that there was something wrong. As much as Pepper was a sign of hope for the company, she was a sign of near-death when it concerned Tony. 

Steve couldn’t help but wonder what it was about this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not so bad, right? Excuse stupid spelling mistakes, please! 
> 
>  
> 
> Question: Confrontation or Tony comes out by himself? Which sounds more exciting?
> 
> Fanfic recommendation: Where you're an Omega, by theawesometoris32. Why are you still reading this? Get over there and glue your eyes to her writing!


	7. Here's the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now everyone's up to date on Tony, Natasha gets frustrated, and Pepper and Tony have some chick-flick moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter. It's kind of another filler, but this one has purpose. Enjoy!

Steve strolled into the living area, still confused about his Pepper sighting, to find Bucky, Bruce, and Clint, all cuddling on the couch, blue and black and white and different shades of green all bundled together in a little ball of love that was making Steve chuckle. Natasha was perched on a chair reading that one book that she had found in her room about the differences in dynamics and whatnot, and Thor was simply relaxing, golden wings draped over the back of the couch, eyes closed, hands clasped together. 

He looked Natasha’s shoulder to see what she was reading about: The Covering of Gender, Chapter 7, was in big bold letters on the page. Steve noticed that Natasha was reading on with great intensity, and he suspected that she was looking for the appearance or covering up of female Alphas in ancient times. Natasha doing research. Huh, odd. And when Steve turned his head to look back at Bucky, he noticed that Clint’s eyes were wide open and the look his face bore confusion and thought, not pleasure and calmness when he usually cuddled with Bucky. Okay, now Steve was confused. 

Taking a cautious sniff, his nose zeroed in on the scents of stale bread and sour milk, dead orchids, and flat beer. It didn’t smell good. And, because Steve is so observant, he noticed that Natasha’s wings were stiff, as were Clint’s, and Thor’s sun-stung wings were still, not swaying or moving as they should be. Now the Alpha in Steve wanted answers. Half of his flock was acting really strange. He was still standing behind Natasha, and he ran a hand through her feathers to het her attention. 

“Hey, you okay?” Steve whispered. Natasha slowly lifted her head and blinked at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Natasha replied flatly. Steve made a face at her. 

“Come on, Nat. What’s bugging you?” Steve pressed on.

“Nothing, I’m really, truly fine,” Natasha said, rolling her eyes, to which Steve out a hand on her hand and looked at her. 

“Natasha, soldier up. Tell me what’s wrong,” Steve said a little too loud. Thor actually turned and looked at them, but closed his eyes again. Natasha sighed. 

“I am still hung up over Tony,” she said curtly. Steve raised his eyebrows. 

“And the door slam thing? How come?” Steve asked. 

Something in Natasha snapped. 

“Okay, you guys. we’re supposed to be a team. We’re supposed to be a flock, a family. A group of people who care about each other and know each other very, very well. Right? So can someone tell me why I’m the only one who finds Tony’s out of character behavior a little concerning?” Natasha’s voice echoed in the room, frustration cutting through in her face. Her wings were high and bristled, and her scent had gone from rotting orchids to burning orchids. Thor opened his eyes, Steve flinched, Clint simply looked over, and Bruce and Bucky perked up, shocked by Natasha’s outburst. And if Natasha wasn’t happy, then no one was happy. 

But Natasha was actually angry that no one had noticed this behavioral change in Tony. They hadn’t noticed that Tony had been in the workshop longer than he usually was. They hadn’t noticed that Tony hadn’t surfaced once since the shouting, which was not exactly normal. And no one had noticed the scent that was in the bathroom, like, at all. And Natasha wasn’t up for excuses as to why they hadn’t been taking Tony’s well-being into consideration.

As a general rule in the world, when you grow as a flock with a group of people, you grow to notice warning signs—whether it is anger or hunger or sadness or stress or whatever—and this signs tell you when something is wrong, whatever it is. It could be an insurmountably large and scary and terrifying secret, or it could be the fact that someone lost his or her favorite pen. 

When someone wasn’t acting normal, it was kind of a big deal, especially if the Alpha or Alphas in the flock had anything to say about it. Alphas were the protectors, the care-givers, the make-sure-everything’s-okay-ers, and if something wasn’t okay, then the Alphas would be finding out why. So far, Natasha and Thor, slightly, were the only ones who had noticed any change. Granted, it was a large flock and it was hard to noticed everyone all the time, but still. Natasha knew all of this, and she was angry that no one was as stressed as she was. It made her feel dumb, but it also made her feel like she was in a flock of idiots, which, of course, she wouldn’t stand for.

Steve took a breath and looked softly at Natasha. Her wings were now lowered and she looked exhausted. Hand on her shoulder, Steve kneeled down beside her.

“Hey, Natasha, it’s okay. We are all sorry,” Steve said, glowering at Bucky who was actually kind of smiling, “that we have been taking care of our flock the same way that you have.” Steve paused, and Natasha glared at him. He’d have to offer more. Steve swallowed. “If it helps any, I saw Pepper walking to Tony’s workshop today.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Why does that help? Pepper is here all the time. Did you happen to forget that Tony does, in fact, run a business?” 

Steve shook his head. “No, and I thought the same way. At least until I saw her made a beeline to Tony’s workshop, not his office. Not only that, but she had a bottle of wine with her.”

Natasha looked at Steve with wide eyes. “So something is wrong, then.” 

Steve nodded. “If Pepper has been called, then Tony sure as hell ain’t good.” 

“And how do we know that Pepper is not a sign of Tony simply wanting to talk among a friend?” Thor asked. 

“Because wine is Tony’s emotional drink,” said Natasha. 

“I thought every drink was Tony’s emotional drink,” clipped Clint, a smirk coating his face. Natasha grimaced. 

“Yeah, but with Pepper holding the bottle?” 

Clint thought it over. “Yep, you’re right. Either Pepper is having issues, which will happen when pigs fly, or Tony is about to have a mental breakdown.”

The room was silent. 

“Should I spy up in the vents?” Clint offered. 

“No,” Bucky said immediately. “If it’s trust we want from Tony, then we have to let him come to us.”

“And if he never does?” asked Steve, concern laced in his voice.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait,” Bruce said, arms crossed behind his head. “We all know Tony, and we all should know that forcing him out isn’t going to work. I agree with Bucky.”

Natasha was deep in thought. How could they just let Tony suffer? “As well as we know Tony, how many times has he ever come to us with his problems?”

The room was silent again. 

“Fine,” said Steve, taking charge. “Here’s what we should do. We give him three days to come to us with whatever is bugging him, starting now. If he doesn’t come out, then we go in. Got it?” Everyone gave a nod or grunt of some sign of understanding. Steve nodded his head. “Alright. The clock is ticking.” And the decision was made. But Natasha couldn’t help but wonder if whether or not giving Tony an unknown ultimatum would even change the outcome. 

Unless, of course, by some miracle, Tony came out by himself. 

* * *

Tony was sitting at his desk, fiddling with one thing or another, when he heard J.A.R.V.I.S alert him to Pepper’s arrival. He turned to see her entering his special space, wings held at her sides and a bottle of Raspberry Hill in her hand. He smiled at her. 

“Well, hello, Mrs. Potts. Care for a drink?” Tony snatched the bottle from her hand and pulled two wine glasses seemingly out of nowhere. Pepper rolled her eyes.

“Hello, Tony.” Pepper sighed when Tony turned around to pour the wine. The tips of his azure wings were showing through the dye, and she could smell his scent in the air, but she composed herself. She was here for a reason, which was not helping Tony through a heat cycle. She was here to talk. “So, how did Angela figure out the scent suppressors weren’t working?”

Ah, getting right to it. Classic Pepper. Tony turned back around with the glasses filled with the red liquid. “She getting calls from other idiots who said they could smell themselves. So, naturally, she called me.” 

Pepper made an “o” with her mouth. “And how are you planning on continuing on with tainted suppressors?” 

Tony gave her a face. “She said she would have a new batch by Friday, so I’m just kinda planning on staying down here, tinkering and shit for a few more days.”

“You’re not going to tell your flock?” Pepper asked incredulously. “I know that you want to keep your secret Tony, but you’re making it pretty obvious that you might have one.” 

“I’m allowed,” Tony retorted, rolling his eyes. 

“Not if the Alphas in your flock have anything to say about it,” responded Pepper. 

Tony gritted his teeth. “They don’t that I’m an Omega, Pepper. They think that I am a genius, independent, sociable, got-my-shit-together Alpha, and all I have to do to keep acting like I am, and voila, nothing suspicious.” 

“I can’t say that I agree, Tony, but the point here is not what your teammates think of you. I concerned about you Tony,” Pepper sighed, wings dropped slightly. 

“Why? I’m perfectly fine,” Tony said, kinda sorta lying. 

Pepper gave him a face. “Bullshit. You’ve taken scent suppressants for years, you haven’t had a real heat for the same amount of time, your feathers are probably really screwed up form being covered with dye, and you can’t admit to yourself that your flock is worth trusting. To me, it sounds like you are not ‘perfectly fine.’” 

Tony sighed. “You make it sound worse than it actually is.”

“Really, Tony? Isn’t that how is actually is?” Pepper almost yelled, wings starting to rise. “I scared, Tony. For you and for your team. I’m afraid that you all might fall apart because you are too arrogant to admit your own faults and accept yourself for who you actually are.”

“Oh, so now it’s my fault that the flock might become dysfunctional?” Tony snapped, wings flaring way, way up. 

Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose and took a few deep breaths, lowering her pink, black tipped feathers. “No, Tony. That’s not it. I want the best for you, but you have to help yourself. You can’t stay in this hidey-hole much longer. Your flock will figure it out before long, and when they confront you about it, you will not be happy.”

She was right, but Tony wasn’t ready to admit it. He breathed (Uup, there was his scent again) and swallowed a large gulp of wine. “Pepper, how do you think I would be viewed if I came out as Omega? I wouldn’t be respected, I wouldn’t be seen as a good leader, a lot of things could happen. I’m not ready to be cast out again.” 

Pepper knew that Tony’s covering up wasn’t completely his choice. He hadn’t been happy to be Omega in the first place, but that had only been enforced with Howard and then again in Afghanistan, but she was kind of done with this. It weighed on her conscious, and she was worried. Worried Tony wouldn’t get the life that he wanted and deserved because he was too afraid to pounce on the opportunity, even if it was right in front of him. Tony cared about his flock dearly. It was all he thought about. Every one of those over-grown babies took precedence in his mind, and he thought he was doing them a favor by not having them worry about him. That was Tony’s thing. 

“Tony, your flock cares about you too much to push you out. Besides, this is your house. You kick them out, not the other way around.” Pepper put down her wine glass and reached toward Tony, embracing him. Tony let himself be embraced. “You need to let them care about you. Care is not always a one-way street, Tony. Care is a multi-facetted thing that is very hard to control, even if you rebuke it.” 

“Yeah, sure,” snickered Tony. 

“I’m serious. Hear me when I say this, Tony. You are worth caring for, and you are worth loving. Whether or not you are an Omega is irrelevant. What matters is who you choose to be.”

Tony rolled his eyes so hard they hurt. “Stop with the clichés, Pep. I don’t think I can handle any right now.” His skin twitched and vibrated. He still had one more day of this stupid fucking fake heat, and he was so ready for it to be over. All he had to do was soldier out, like Steve. Oh, no, don’t think of Steve fucking you, don't think of Steve fucking you, don’t think of Steve fucking you. 

Pepper looked at Tony. “Okay, but think about it, Tony. Wouldn’t it be great to know that you are wanted?” And with that, Pepper kissed Tony on the forehead, and turned to go, with the wine. 

“Hey, I wasn’t finished with that!” shouted Tony playfully. Pepper looked back at him. 

“Sweetie, you’ve got some thinking to do.”

* * *

After the impromptu flock meeting, Thor was walking back to his room to see if he could contact Jane, simply because he hadn’t in a while. In the hallway, he saw a strawberry-blond head of hair approaching him.

“Greetings, Lady Potts. HOw are you fairing?” Thor asked with a smile. Pepper smiled back.

“Quite alright, thank you, Thor.”

“Are you returning home?”

“Yes, I just needed to talk with Tony. He’s going through some stuff at the moment.”

Thor’s eyes widened. Natasha was right; there was something bothering Tony. “Well, if you see him again soon, send salutations. None of us have seen him in sunrises.”

Now Pepper’s eyes widened. “Oh, of course, I’ll tell him. I’ll see you later. Goodbye, Thor.”

“Goodbye, Lady Potts,” said Thor, and Pepper walked the rest of the way down the hall and to the elevator. 

And as she passed him, Thor caught the scent of bread, metal, and ripe fruit amongst flowers. It was one of the best things he had ever smelled; it reminded him of his hunting celebrations, were there was food and swords and flowers everywhere, merriment carrying on around him, and he longed to know to whom the scent belonged. He knew it didn’t belong to Pepper—she smelled of gardenia and soft cotton, no wonder Tony found her comforting—but it was following her. The scent was extremely light and wafty, and if Pepper hadn’t created the slight breeze in her passing, he wouldn’t have caught it.

Thor stood in the hallway, dumbstruck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was bombarded with requests saying "Confrontation," so most likely that's the way this is going to go, but Tony might get a chance to initiate it, so just calm down before you get all pissed off because you don't like my choice. Plus I think it fits Tony's personality better. 
> 
> I'm trying to give every character a voice in this story, but some people are just a little more prevalent, and next chapter will hopefuly be a little more exciting! 
> 
> Stay tuned!
> 
> Fan fiction recommendation: How Could We Be So Blind, by WrennAddysen. She is the goddess of One Direction fan fiction, and her story is beautiful, but read the warnings. Now go binge-read it and get obsessed!


	8. The Plight of the Flighty Feather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People talk and Tony leaves behind a calling card in the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, yes, I know that this took me forever to post, but life, man, so stop complaining and just read the damn thing. It's only about 2,000 words but, heck, they are powerful words!
> 
> Enjoy

Pepper contemplated her decision to leave Tony alone in his thoughts, but she knew that Tony needed his own time to figure things out. That was Tony’s way. Tony wasn’t exactly someone who was easily persuaded into letting you help him, one instance of Alpha Tony fitting right in with the rest of the group, with Omega Tony falling way, way behind. All Omegas cared for their flockmates, but because they shouldered a lot of their mates issues, they needed a little care and spoiling, too. And Pepper definitely took care of the spoiling section of Tony’s psyche, especially since Tony made it sound like his team didn’t care for him at all, which Pepper knew was a complete and utter lie. Even so, she let Tony live in his little fantasy world, where he was an Alpha and there was nothing wrong. 

Pepper was beginning to wonder if that choice was the best. 

* * *

Thor was still in the hallway minutes later, running through every possible scenario in his head about the beautiful scent that wafted off Pepper in delicate, nearly undetectable waves. He was far too confused and aroused to think completely clearly, so his brain thought up the next best option to stressing over it himself: stressing over it with his flock.

Back up in the common room, Steve and Bucky had somehow convinced Bruce to let them play with his hair, a truly admirable feat, when Thor burst through the door, slamming it against the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Thor saw Steve’s wings flare up ever-so-slightly, but at the moment he couldn’t care less. There was something yummy and fertile and downright sexy floating near or even IN the Tower, and Thor, in all his Alpha-ness, wanted to find it. In a desperate sweep of the room, his eyes met a certain redhead’s. 

Natasha had lifted her head when she heard to door slam, her green eyes meeting Thor’s, concern filling them, brows furrowed. But, when she saw the dilated pupils and Thor’s shivering wings, the realization fired off every neuron that she had dedicated to figuring out one of the many mysteries that had cropped up these past few days. She was nearly certain that she knew what Thor had walked in to. She walked over to him, wings stiff and unmoving, ready to let a slew of questions forward, but Bucky interrupted what was about to be a lot of confusing, run-together gibberish. 

“Excuse me, but what in the name of God is happening here?” Bucky asked, vexed, curious, and concerned all at once. 

Natasha glanced over at him, jaw set roughly, trying to find words. Wigs held high and impatient, Bucky just made hand motions that urged her to explain herself, which, much to his disappointment, wasn’t speeding up her Natasha’s explanation in the slightest. 

Finally, unable to spin an elaborate lie to her flock-mates, Natasha sighed. “As some of you may have noticed, there have been some strange occurrences in the tower lately, namely Tony’s out of character behavior, his prolonged absence, and Pepper’s appearance here with the wine.” Everyone nodded in understanding, but they were now quite worried. Natasha only ever used her professional/Russian spy voice when she was feeling a lot of complex emotions or was being put in a really complicated or uncomfortable position. Clint suspected from her extremely flat tone that she was experiencing both. Yet, she persevered. “Well, there is one more piece to the puzzle that I haven’t shared, mostly because I didn’t even know that it was a piece of the puzzle at all. I have just now received another piece because of Thor.”

It was so silent that you could hear heartbeats. 

“A few days ago, I encountered a very potent smell near the bathroom, but I concluded that it was either a very strange break-in, or one of Tony’s one-night-stands. Now, I don’t know what it is,” Natasha said, bewildered. “And now that Thor, I assume,” she turned to Thor, and he nodded his head in confirmation, “has also crossed this scent, but coming from Pepper, of all people, the pieces are so jagged and mixed up that I don’t know if they are even from the same puzzle.”

Natasha’s wings were touching the ground at this point, so low and droopy that even Bucky was starting to feel bad, but Clint was almost in tears. The dusty-green-gray-blue-winged Beta slipped from his spot on the couch and walked up behind the red-tipped Alpha female. Wrapping his arms and wings around her as best he could, Clint kissed the back of Natasha’s neck. 

“We’ll figure it out, Nat. We always do,” he muttered into her ear. 

Natasha sighed again. “And to make matters worse, I think that it will all circle back to Tony.”

Clint chuckled. “Doesn’t it usually?”

Behind them, Steve shrugged to himself. Maybe it was Tony. 

“I’m just so afraid,” whispered Natasha. “This is really confusing, and not really knowing just makes it worse.” 

As natural protectors and care-givers, Alphas needed to know about all the little insecurities and problems that those in their care possessed in order to help them properly. It kept the Alphas sane. Everyone, even Bucky, but especially Bruce, all had those little things that made life a little harder. For Bucky, it was being boxed in and cornered. Bruce had issues with abandonment and harsh criticism. Steve, weirdly enough, hated being left out or left behind. Thor’s problems stemmed from a need to be strong and having command of a room. For Clint, being forced or pestered or nagged at was a HUGE turn-off. And Natasha… Well, Natasha hated not knowing or being out of the loop, a problem which was really messing her up right now. She needed to get to the bottom of this, before it ate out her soul.

Steve pipped up. “Tony still had a few days to come to us with whatever is bothering him. If this all does come back to Tony, and I think that it will, we will either figure it out or die trying.”

“So, basically, we are going to figure this out?” asked Clint. 

Steve nodded. “Bet your feathers on it, Barton.”

* * *

Tony sat in his workshop, slightly buzzed from the wine, but his brain wasn’t very cooperative. Almost asleep, it took an angering door-slam from Thor, obviously, to stir him back online, especially since it took almost all he had to not march back up there and scream again.

Tony was feeling dirty. Because it had been hours and hours since he last showered, the azure of his wings was beginning to show through more and more. Tony wasn’t really sure about how much longer he could go before he would have to race upstairs as Omega-like as possible and get himself cleaned and calmed before anyone saw him. Yet, his heat was over in a day, a day and a half, tops. He was almost free from this hell… for a little while, anyway. And then, he’d be able to wash and clean every last bit of sweat and pain and insecurity from his body. Or at least try to. 

Bringing a wing around his abdomen, Tony brushed his fingers over the overly sensitized feathers. The oil on his wings was starting to be a problem again, but by now he had located a new bottle of Ms. Marten’s All Natural, Earth Friendly Scent and Wing Oil Remover for All Surfaces, hidden in the back of the cupboard in the bathroom, when he was on the common floor last, back so no more treacherous climbs into the outside. As he ran his hand over his appendages, more and more dye stuck to his fingers, revealing the mass of beautiful, iridescent blue underneath the brown, navy, black, and white of his kestrel wings. 

Looking at them with tired eyes, Tony sighed dramatically. He couldn’t understand why he had been “blessed” with such colors, colors he would have thought were absolutely breathtaking if they were attached to any other person’s shoulder blades. But they were attached to his, and because they hadn’t fit the Stark Standard they were not acceptable. 

But even if they weren’t acceptable, Tony still sort of appreciated them. Coveted and rare, wings that were iridescent in any color were said in ancient times to be a mark of power, essence, godliness, and, most of all, Omega. Omegas with swift wings and quick movements and a heart of gold, even if hidden away. Omegas that were lusted after and sold and traded and kept under layers of clothes and veils to keep the eyes of others off of them. 

Tony again remembered why he didn’t like his status. 

Wiping his forehead with his hand and smearing the dye, Tony breathed through his nose, just as his tummy rumbled extremely loudly. After his eyes searching for something to eat, Tony’ realized that he hadn’t eaten anything in a while. As tempted as he was to walk upstairs without a word and grab something quick, Tony reigned himself in. Everyone was upstairs talking and murmering, and Tony didn’t fel like being confronted by the amount of questions his appearance would surely raise. So he made a decision. Tonight, he told himself. Tonight, I will just grab a few bags of chips and some bananas or something, and be gone before they even know I was there. 

Uh, Tony, his brain chipped in. You stink of “Eau du Omega” at the moment. Do you really think it’s a good idea to just waltz in without any preparation? Tony considered that thought for a while, but soon came to the conclusion that he could just bring the Cleaner with him and spray it as he goes, and no one would know. He knew it was a terrible plan that had so many holes, but he was kinda running out of options.

Tony had run out of real options a long time ago. 

(Fast Forward Five Hours)

Tony slid open the door of his workshop as quietly as he could, then tiptoed down the hall to the elevator. Once he reached to common floor, he immediately sprayed himself with the stuff. Thank God it had scent neutralizers. Making sure that was throughly coated, Tony snuck out to the kitchen area. He quietly shuffled through boxes and jars and bags until he got what he wanted without making hardly any noise. Proud of himself for his little spy mission (Natasha would also be proud) Tony puffed out his chest and raised his wings, walking back a little less carefully than before. 

If only he had turned…

* * *

Bruce was not having a good night. He had had a particularly nasty nightmare, and the Other Guy was more than happy to show his evil-dream-assassins some manners. So, needless to say, he was going down to the kitchen, set on making some fresh muffins. But, as he was searching for the baking pans, something shimmery, shiny, iridescent even, caught his eye. Bruce turned to get a better look at it; it was a feather. An azure blur, iridescent feather. Bruce almost gasped. 

He stared at it for several moments before picking it up, marveling at the softness and shape of the fibers. Even an idiot would have known that this was the feather of an Omega. But that wasn’t the question. The question was: Whose was it?

Bruce couldn’t even imagine any Omega in the world getting past the security systems without an alarm being raised, especially if he or she left behind an actual DNA footprint. Kicking his scientist brain into full throttle, Bruce sat at the bar on a stool and thought it all over, wings swaying in concentration. I was clearly someone that JARVIS and Tony’s security systems knew, so it had to be someone who was either cleared in their security system, which was very few, or someone who was in here all the time. 

Pepper? No. That woman was so Alpha that even Thor stepped aside for her.

Clint? Nope. Bruce knew Clint well enough as his fellow Beta to know that Clint was just that: a Beta. 

Any of the Alphas? Okay, now he was getting desperate. Every single one of the Alpha oozed Alpha-y-ness in their own special way, but they also specific Alpha traits that made them as such:   
1.They all flared wings (Well, with a few exceptions from Tony).   
2\. They all had a very distinct scent (but didn’t everybody?).   
3\. All of them possessed large, wide wins that could carry them for long distances (Except for Tony, whose wings were more aerodynamic and sleek, but they had all chalked it up to Tony just being smaller.),   
4\. They all loved to challenge (even if Tony left when most said challenges were being carried out).

Okay, so maybe Tony was just an anomaly, Bruce reasoned. Not everyone has to fit a stereotypic mold of one rank or another… Even if those features and behaviors were almost standard, no matter where you traveled. Bruce sighed, keeping his train of thought. Because Tony was the outlier in this case, Bruce, from a research standpoint, put Tony into the role of an Omega instead of Alpha and tried to keep him there, no matter how weird it was. But, as Bruce ran through all of the features of Omegas and compared them to Tony, he found a very surprising pattern:

Tony matched almost all of the features, even to the stereotypical level of Omegas not liking being around challenging Alphas, an instinct that kept them out of the line of fire when Alphas were competing for territory or for flock-mates. Yet even with this trait, Omegas could still be fiery and sassy and hold their own exceptionally well, and when angry, they are just as dangerous as an Alpha, especially if it involves fledglings or family. Family was the most important thing to Omegas; they held the family together with their love and care, and—if there were no fledglings—are prone to mothering. 

So far, it sounded very much like Tony.

Omegas nested, and even if it didn’t mean having an actual nest, it meant that Omegas chose a space and became attached or extremely familiar with it, and preferred to stay there instead of many other places. 

Bruce reasoned that it Tony was an Omega, his workshop would be his nest. Considering the amount of time he spent down there already, it made plain and simple sense. But the potholes in Bruce’s Omega Tony simulation was Tony’s lack of azure blue wings, whether it was the entire wing or part of a pattern, and the scent of a ‘real’ Omega, something sweeter and fruitier than Tony’s citrus-y metallic musk. 

But even Bruce’s genius, tired brain clicked the jagged puzzle pieces together. Tony’s outburst, his reaction to said outburst, the scent in the bathroom, Pepper’s odd visit, the scent that was on said Pepper, and now this feather that was mesmerizing Bruce into a stupor.

Maybe Tony being an Omega wasn’t as far off as he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, didja like it? Didja like it? Didja like it? Is the suspense killing you? Are you ready to kill me because I suck at creating suspense? Does anyone want muffins now? 
> 
> *Update, I added a few more paragraphs about Bruce and may continue to since this chapter is obviously VERY important since it's the final figurative nail in the figurative coffin (which may be an actual coffin, if you ask Tony)
> 
> Fanfic recommendation: Equilibrium, by Whisper91. Just read it. I promise you, you won't regret it, especially all you Sterek shippers out there. ;)


	9. Cups of Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce explaining his theory away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just read it.

Back in his workshop, Tony quickly ate the food that he “stole” (Well, not really. This was his house, after all.), and then proceeded to take a long, hot shower, soothing away the last of the heat symptoms, ready to move on. Tomorrow, he would be able to surface and go about normally and… Expose his scent and come out as an Omega. Tony shivered; he could only imagine what the team would say about it. Being the only Omega in a clutch of mostly Alphas (thank God for Bruce and Clint) wouldn’t be easy, and Tony felt like he would have to prove himself all over again, just like he did when he first joined the Avengers Initiative. 

Sitting in front of the Paint-R 3245 and reading yet another Enquirer article about the absurd amount of people he had slept with, Tony glanced over the list that included the most current woman, Scarlet Alskowitch—a Beta businesswoman with long, chocolate swirls of hair, golden skin, and sliver eyes that matched her wings. Tony rolled his eyes at that article. Scarlet had just been a friend, just like most of these other people (even if he had slept with a few of them). 

Remembering his old friends at MIT, Tony sighed. He missed both Rae and Josh, occasionally. He hadn’t needed to be fake with them, be someone he wasn’t. Rae had been there when he cried about his feathers, when he turned out to be Omega, when he suffered through the delirium of his first heat. Josh had distracted him from all of his issues, had kept him safe when they walked into bars, had looked him in the eyes and said “Fuck your dad” when Tony really needed it. 

His teammates hadn’t been there for that. 

But they had saved his life, and the lives of others, many, many times.

Tony closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Coming out as Omega would change a lot: the way he was looked at by others, the way he would be treated on the battlefield, the rumors and press attention. In the days of his father, Tony hadn’t been much in the spotlight, but when he stood to inherit the business (despite his father’s loathing of the lack of other heirs to the metaphorical throne) that all changed. Tony had to change. And it was in that moment when Tony had dye slathered on his wings and suppressants shoved down his throat, was told to stand up and fight, but not too hard, to be lovable, but not slutty, to be respected and feared, but not intimidating. Find a balance between what you are and what you should have been. 

Tony let a tear slip, but in that tear was years of pent up frustration and anger and resentment for something that he couldn’t even control. It burned down his cheek, leaving a hot, memory-filled trail in its wake, bringing Tony back to the first day that he had ever been shamed for his gender, the first time that he had ever cried like there was no tomorrow, like his life was over. And now, he almost felt the exact same way. 

But that sadness soon heated Tony’s face, made him clench his fists, raising his wings higher and higher until he thought a vessel was going to burst. All the years where he was subject to discrimination and was needed to cover up were over. He had no need to. 

And Tony was done, completely and utterly done. Him being an Omega had nothing to do with his value. Dr. Marlene was right. 

The Paint-R sputtered as the job was finished, and Tony stood up, feeling the blood rush through his body. At this point, his pseudo-heat was done, thank God, and all he could feel was jitters running up and down his spine. However, the scent was still there, would be for a few days, and Tony took a deep breath, letting the anger turn into drive. Leaving the room, Tony made a beeline toward the bed. He had a feeling that tomorrow would be particularly energy draining. 

* * * 

To say that Bruce had gotten any more sleep that night would be a lie. He had spent hours thinking over Tony’s possible secret, which was getting more and more plausible the longer he thought about it. He couldn’t even start to make the muffins he was planning on. All he could do was hold the feather and stare at it, humbled by beauty that he had never seen before in real life. 

He must have dozed off because next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by the smell of orchids: Natasha. When Bruce bothered to move his wings off of his face and open his eyes, all he could see was Natasha’s flared feathers and concern in her green eyes. Very rarely did Natasha ever find him in kitchen dead asleep and never without some kind of baked good around him. So, needless to say, Natasha was confused. 

 

Natasha opened her mouth to voice her concerns, but Bruce just put a hand up. Natasha quirked her head, but closed her jaw. Then, from under Bruce’s wing came his other hand, fingers grasping around a foreign object. As her mind processed the information given to her, Natasha’s eyes bulged from her head and she was instantly rendered speechless, wings shaking in excitement and shock. 

In Bruce’s hand was the most beautiful feather ever known to mankind. 

Mesmerized, Natasha leaned in to get a closer look. Every fiber of the azure feather was reflective, but the color wasn’t flat. What appeared to be blue on the surface was truly a mixture of emeralds, violets, aquas, and indigos, and the feather itself was sleek, aerodynamic, and incredibly light. It was undoubtedly an Omegan feather. Reaching out her hand, Natasha pouted at Bruce, begging for a touch, and he complied, laying the delicate feather into her awaiting fingertips. 

She almost gasped when she felt feather settle its weight onto her palm. The velvety smoothness of the feather was easily the softest thing Natasha had ever felt, and, unable to resist, she swiped the very tip of the feather across her cheek. She traced her face, unable to get enough of the sensation, but the second she led the feather under her nose, she stopped dead in her tracks. 

There. 

The scent was there. 

That fruity-flowery scent that she had been trying to trace for days was condensed right there. 

And even most unbelievable was the fact that she could also faintly smell Ms. Marten’s All Natural, Earth Friendly Scent and Wing Oil Remover for All Surfaces wafting from the feather. The Omega that possessed this color of wings was the same Omega who had been in the bathroom and taken the Cleaner. And they had left behind a calling card. 

Natasha must have not blinked for a while, because Bruce was tapping her and trying to get her attention. 

“Hey. Hey, Natasha,” he called. 

Natasha’s eyes shot up. “W-what?”

“You were completely zoned out for a moment there. I was too, but not nearly as long as you,” chuckled Bruce. 

Trying not to blush, Natasha shrugged. “It’s just so—.”

“Beautiful?” Bruce supplied. 

Nodding, Natasha turned her eyes back to the feather in her hand. “Whose feather do you think this is?” 

Bruce’s muscles tensed and his wings stopped their easy-going swaying. Picking up on this immediately, Natasha’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know?” 

Bruce gave a very stiff shrug. “Not really,” he muttered.

All of the previous softness in Natasha’s aura was gone in an instant, eyes becoming intense and focused, ready to pull every interrogation trick in the book for a real answer. Bruce could see the red tips of Natasha’s feathers begin to bristle, wings hiking up higher and higher, pulling the intimidation card. 

“Tell me, Bruce. Do you know who it is?” Natasha growled.

“Uh…” The rumble that followed when he didn’t answer was so low and guttural that Bruce swore he felt it through the floor. Seeing playing dumb wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Bruce sighed and gave in, wings lowering in submission. “I-I think that it’s…” He gulped. “I think its Tony’s.”

Natasha almost fainted. 

* * *

Tony was willing to admit that playing Selena Gomez’s “Who Says” really was an inspriational song to wake up to.

* * *

Clint had walked in on quite a scene: Natasha sitting with a cup of tea in her hands and Bruce rubbing circles onto her back, a scene unusual enough that Clint actually asked what was wrong. 

“Uh, is everything okay?” Clint asked cautiously. 

Natasha looked over at Bruce. “You tell ‘im,” she said curtly. 

“Okay, now I’m concerned. What happened?” Clint asked, brow furrowed. 

Bruce sighed. “I have reason to believe that the Phantom Omega in Tony Stark’s tower is none other than the Stark himself.” 

Clint froze.

The archer didn’t know how to react at all. There was so many conflicting emotions all at once and he was at a loss for words, so he did the one thing he could: he laughed. 

At first it was a giggle, but it soon turned into a full-blown, open-mouthed howl that echoed throughout the room. With wings spasming and sides heaving, Clint had to physically sit down before he collapsed from air deprivation. When he finally stopped, there were tears on his cheeks and he might have pissed his pants, but the look on Natasha’s face brought him back down to Earth. Taking a deep breath, Clint tried to speak. 

“S-so, how did you make this discovery, doc?” he asked Bruce. 

Bruce sighed again. “Well, it started when I was downstairs last night. Couldn’t sleep. I walked around the corner and was about to get out the pans when I spotted this thing.” And with that, Bruce showed Clint the feather, and Clint paled. The feather was something that Clint hadn’t ever been blessed to see. 

“It’s… so shiny,” Clint replied in awe. 

Bruce chuckled. “Yes, well, I out plenty of time and thought into my theory, and I think that I might be right.” And he proceeded to tell Clint of the evidence that brought him to the “Omega Tony” conclusion. 

After that ordeal, Clint also decided the he needed a cup of tea. 

One by one, the remaining team members awoke and walked into the kitchen, only to be surprised by distressed scents and a bright blue feather. Bruce gave his explanation, and the current team member was handed a cup of tea. Soon, a meringue of feathers and distressed scents clouded the area, but everyone was, more or less, staring at awe at the peacock-colored appendage. Steve in particular was relieved that they had possibly figured out what was bothering Tony. 

“I wonder for how long Tony has concealed his true nature,” Thor thought out loud. 

Bruce grimaced. “Suppressants aren’t hard to come by these days. They may be legal, but they shouldn’t be. Their affects on the body are almost synonymous with being addicted to antidepressants.”

Bucky could hear the disappointment in Bruce’s voice, even if he was trying to hide it. He shuffled his way over and snaked an arm around Bruce’s waist, squeezing tight. Bruce rested his head against Bucky’s chest, wings low and limp, while Bucky’s own wings wrapped around Bruce in an act of comfort. 

Natasha was hardly fairing any better. As a person who was quite invested in Tony’s well-being, she was particularly shocked, but the pieces clicked into place so effortlessly that there was almost other explanation; she had no reason to expect otherwise. 

Steve hadn’t said a single word all morning, and Thor, who was standing next to him, could feel Steve’s emotional pull between anger and confusion. Gold feathers grazed over white, and Steve gave Thor a grateful glance. 

Clint was glazed over and expressionless, his whole body stiff and rigid, and Natasha was the one who put a hand on his shoulder and stroked, finding a knot and working it until it was released. 

Underneath everyone’s initial shock was the underlying emotions of hurt and anger. Hurt that Tony didn’t trust them. Angry that Tony never told them. Hurt that he didn’t feel safe enough in their flock to be himself. Angry that he had put himself in such risk. Hurt that he didn’t want them. Angry that he had worried them so much. 

But Bruce suspected very highly that Tony was not completely responsible for his own fate. After all, he was supposed to inherit Stark Industries and follow his father’s legacy. Bruce could see how being an Omega would be looked down upon and resented, and also how it would be a disadvantage in the business world. But this was Tony Stark they were talking about. Tony thrived on challenges and being told that he couldn’t do something. It just made him want to do it bigger and better than anyone else. 

Tony couldn’t be easily controlled. 

Bruce sighed. “We have to talk to him.”

“Damn right, we’re talking to him,” Clint snapped. “I can’t wait to give this douchebag a piece of my fucking mind.”

“Now, now, Clint, “ soothed Natasha. “You can’t kill him just yet.”

“Indeed. We have little to make assumptions upon. Only Tony can give to us the truth,” Thor replied. 

Steve scowled. “And how do you propose we do that? Tony’s not gonna tell us anything.” 

“Well, not with that attitude,” Bruce snipped. “And have any of you even met Tony? I seriously doubt that he would actually go through the hell that he has without a damn good reason. Again, I have to say that we must talk to him.”

“Talk to who about what?”

Everybody froze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, I will add more to this particular chapter! It's not nearly done, but I needed to give you guys SOMETHING... So check back later, and I will have more written. 
> 
> Just so you know, I will be in Chicago next week, so no updates for the last week of July unless I get SUPER lucky, but I'l make sure to make it up to you guys.
> 
> *Update: I added more. Yes, I know, I'm awful, but the next chapter is the confrontation, and it's going to be long and complicated and Pepper's going to get involved, so calm your faces.


	10. The End of the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce has control, Natasha really cares, the Alphas don't do much, and Clint is a fucking asshat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ARE YOU READY FOR THIS, BITCHES?!!?!?!?!?!?!
> 
> I really hope I wrote this well; be nice, I'm nervous. 
> 
> Now go forth, and read! I worked my butt of for this, so read it and enjoy it, dammit!

Bruce was the first to turn around and make eye-contact with the kestrel-winged Alp—Omega, and as soon as he did, he almost screamed. Tony had the worst timing of anyone he had ever met. As Tony stared at the group huddled around each other in the kitchen, the group members, one by one, raised their heads and showed their faces, each with varying degrees of anger, hurt, and sorrow. Soon, everyone, excluding Clint, who was currently taking very deep breaths, had lifted his or her emotion-filled eyes, looked at Tony, and said nothing. The amount of melodramatic scent in the room almost knocked Tony off his feet. 

It was so silent that Bruce could hear everyone’s heartbeats. 

As Bruce stared into Tony’s eyes, he watched them muddle through varieties of anger, fear, shame, and melancholy, just like the Alphas. He observed Tony’s wings, which had gone from normal state to rejected and depressed. It made him wish to wrap Tony up in a blanket after he finished strangling him. Bruce was about to say something when Clint whipped around and stared at Tony with a soul-crushing glare. 

Watching Tony recoil and put his balled fists in front of his chest was quite nerve-wracking, and Bruce felt even more sorry for the Alp— Omega. But the scent that was billowing off of Clint right now was far more worrisome. The fact that Clint was a highly dangerous and unpredictable assassin was already daunting, but this wasn’t “doing my job, which just so happens to be kicking ass” Clint. This was livid Clint, the Clint that would kill without rhyme or reason. It was the Clint who was after someone who had hurt anyone he cared about, which, in this case, happened to be the same person. 

Clint turned his whole body towards Tony, wings completely flared out and stiff, and Tony, prepared for a fight (he wasn’t even sure why it was even happening), putting his hands down, yet putting one foot behind the other, preparing for a charge. Clint huffed at him. 

Tony crossed his arms. “Before you attempt to assault me in my own home, which, by the way, has its own personal army, can I ask why?” 

“Were you ever gonna tell us, Tony?” Clint growled, eyes ablaze. 

“Tell you what? I have running checklist,” Tony sassed. 

Clint huffed through his nose again, then turned to Bruce and shoved his hand forward. “Bruce, give it.” Bruce looked at Clint like he was crazy, but then realized that he was demanding the feather. Hesitating, Bruce took a step back from Clint, but Clint just glared harder. “Give it.” Bruce glared back, but gave the feather over to Clint’s crushing grip. 

All of the Alphas’ heads snapped up when they saw Bruce give the feather to Clint, whose anger made him forget about his earlier sentiments. When Thor saw Clint bend and break the feather’s fibers in his palm, his eyes narrowed and his feathers bristled. How dare Clint harm such a beautiful mark of such a revered creature? Yes, Tony had lied to them, but such a blatant sigh of disrespect was particularly uncalled for. The rest of the Alphas had very similar thoughts. 

Tony watched the scene unfold with a stressed curiosity, the kind that made him sick to his stomach, but still made him the smallest bit excited. He tried to glance around Clint to see what he had grabbed from Bruce, but to no avail. It wasn’t until Clint actually showed it to him that Tony knew what it was. And oh, my God. 

Tony was going to die. 

When the azure feather came within his sight, Tony gasped and took several steps back, completely shocked. Clint huffed again. 

“This is yours.” It wasn’t even a question; Clint’s voice was dead certain. 

“H-h-how did you find… W-where did you get that?” Tony stammered, wings shaking violently, and Natasha almost moved to touch Tony, calm him, reassure him that he was okay, but she needed to know why, as well. 

“I found it here, in the kitchen,” Bruce answered, trying to keep his voice mellow, even if he was extremely close to letting The Other Guy out. Tony commemorated Bruce for his self-control, but also for visibly trying to even act like he wasn’t about to rip Tony’s head off. Bruce continued. “I was going to make a few batches of muffins, when I came across the feather that Clint is crushing in his hand.” Clint glared at him, but the intensity had been dampened. “And I ended up marveling at it and… It’s a long story.”

“Long story, for sure,” whispered Bucky under his breath. 

Steve jabbed Bucky in the left side of his ribcage. “Not the time, Bucky.” Steve’s voice was strained and dry, like he hadn’t had water in years, and something ripped in Tony. He was the one who had caused so much pain to his friends, his family, his… flock. He totally deserved Clint’s cruel looks and Natasha’s pained stare. Tony’s eyes dropped to the floor. 

“You found it, huh?” Tony mumbled. “Just lying around.”  
“Yep,” answered Bruce. 

Tony sighed, running his hands through his hair. He was done, he had to face the music. Just say it Stark. Get this over with ASAP so you can deal with the aftermath faster. Just confess. Submit. Submit. Submit…

“So I guess you all know now,” Tony said absentmindedly, voice barely above a whisper. Thor watched the Omega’s wings drop lower and lower, watched as Tony curled into himself. It hurt. 

“We do,” Natasha managed to grit out. 

Tony’s head dropped lower. “Of course.” Tony forced himself not to cry

There was silence for a while, everyone watching Tony and Tony watching the floor. Tony wanted so much to escape, to run, to play the Omega and flee, but the gazes he was held under were much stronger than his desire to evade the premises. The tension in the room was extremely thick and razor sharp. One movement from anybody was enough to bring a whole other round of emotion and staring and even more thick tension. 

Steve was running his hands through his hair and Bucky had turned his away from Tony and was staring at the wall, the lust to punch causing him to flex and relax his hands. Natasha was halfway tucked into Thor’s side, and Bruce was right behind Clint, ready to break up a fight if need be. Clint was still boring his eyes into Tony’s head, the anger burning there, but another emotion had taken a seat in Clint’s ocean-y irises: torment. It made Clint’s face that much more stormy. 

Minutes passed like hours, and nobody moved. Tony occasionally looked up, but was always met with a somber face, and his eyes just fell back down. The scene was playing out like a Shakespeare tragedy. 

Finally, Natasha couldn’t take it. Tension or not, lies or not, life-changing confrontation or not, she couldn’t take this hole in her soul anymore, not when the person who could fill it was right in front of her. Her Alpha was begging her to help the Omega who desperately needed it, and she as done fighting the urge. She was an agent; she did enough of that already. 

She walked away from Thor and dropped in front of Tony, blocking Clint’s line of sight. She even lifted her wings up to give some semblance of privacy. Smelling the scent of orchids, Tony looked up, and was met with mossy orbs that were looking deep into his soul, and instead of hatred, he found care gazing back at him. A hand, one worn from work and softened with an unseen benevolence, combed through his hair, and Tony found a deep breath puffing out of his chest. 

Before he could even speak, soft, light arms were being wrapped around him and squeezing him, and Tony couldn’t resist hugging back. Burying his head in her shoulder, Tony absorbed the thick, deep, flowery scent, and let his jailed tears free. There weren’t many of them and the sobs were silent, but Tony felt like some weight had been lifted. There wasn’t as much to hide anymore. 

He felt Natasha wrap her wings around Tony’s entire body, and the feeling of warmth and safety swelled in Tony’s chest. He fought it down as best he could, but he knew that this moment would quickly be over. He might as well milk it. He let his own hands feel the rise and fall of Natasha’s chest as she breathed, felt her heartbeat against his own chest, and reveled in the sensation of her feathers draped over him and his feathers. He let Natasha trace his back, feel up his spine, tangle her hands in the chocolate curls on the back of his neck. 

And if he felt little warm, wet drops hit his shoulder, that was none of his business. 

After several minutes, Natasha released him and led him to the couch, setting him right smack in the middle of the expanse of pillows and cushions. Tony gave her a questioning look, but she waved her hand at him. Tony almost protested, but right then, Bruce handed Tony a cup of tea (really, Bruce? Chamomile?), and sat next to him, grabbing a blanket and getting comfy. One by one, the team members found a place on the couch or near it, hurt pheromones still swimming around, but the initial shock had been diffused. Finally. 

After a few modest sips of tea, Tony spoke. “So, now what?” 

“Anthony Edward Stark, I’m going to kill you.” 

The words had barely left Tony’s mouth before he heard the entrance door shut behind the group, followed by a clicking of heels. Twisting his head, he caught a glimpse of pink wings and strawberry hair charging toward him, scent concerned and worried, but angry nonetheless. 

Pepper. 

Tony moved to get out of her way, but she reached out and grasped his face, making him look into her eyes, eyes that were filled with nothing but concern. Tony softened, but his guard was still very much up, and Thor, who was sitting on his left, was still very much surprised and growling. Even so, all Pepper had to do was look at him for Thor to take a breath and calm down. She looked back at Tony. 

“What were you thinking?” she cried. “Why did you think coming out so suddenly was a good idea?”

“How did you even get in here?” blurted Steve. 

Pepper just kept her eyes on Tony, but answered. “November 12th, 2007. Kidnapping attempt. I have my own cameras. Now Tony, why did you come out before telling me?”

“Uh, actually, I didn’t,” Tony said, sheepishly. He would loose it on Pepper after this particular problem blew over. Her own cameras? Fucking Alphas... 

“What?” Pepper questioned. 

“T-they…” Tony swallowed. “They found one of my feathers.” 

Pepper paled, then looked up and around for confirmation. No objections were given, just the nodding of heads. 

“I can’t believe it, Tony. I haven’t seen your real wings in over fifteen years. Are they still…?”

“Yes, they are still blue and shiny and fucking ridiculous,” Tony pouted. 

Pepper noticed that Tony was still sporting his kestrel colors, and she sighed heavily. “Well then,” she said, taking off her shoes and blazer, “this should be a fun story.” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tony asked, perplexed. 

“Tony, for the sake of your well-being, we need to know how you pulled this off. We… We need to see if you’re okay,” Bruce chipped in. 

“I agree. We need to make a proper assessment, Tony. We know little about how we can help you,” Thor said. 

“But—.” Tony began. 

“And don’t you fucking say that you don’t need help, Tony. I will kill you where you stand if you resist this.” Of all the times that Tony had been scared of Natasha, now was one of the bigger ones. 

After a pause (and after thinking about all the ways that Natasha would torture him), Tony relented. “Fine, fine. Just… I hope you realize that this won’t be easy. Believe me, the media is going to be all over this,” Tony pouted again. 

“So? We’ve always dealt with the press, Tony,” said Pepper. 

“Yeah, but this is quite different,” Tony responded, quirking an eyebrow. “This… This is big.”

And it kind of was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me you liked it, Please tell me you liked it, Please tell me you liked it! 
> 
> Let me know if there is any major weirdness that I should fix. 
> 
> Now that Tony's been confronted, what will happen next? Read, and find out! 
> 
> LOVE YOU GUYS!!!  
> <3 LittleStarredSky


	11. "The Talk"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a heart-to-heart, and Clint still hasn't gotten over it completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEXT CHAPTER!!!
> 
> That's kind of it...

As Tony burrowed further into the couch, preparing himself for more emotionally draining stories, Natasha, Thor, and Bruce started to scoot a little closer to him, enveloping in warm scents and soft, comforting wings. Tony took a long moment to appreciate his teammates’ ability to not loose it on him when he had lied to them for so long, and, on top of that, keep the domineering wing displays at an all time low for his comfort. 

Chairs, pillows, and blankets were arranged and legs, wings, and heads were rested on the legs, wings, and heads of other. Tony distinctly felt Natasha’s arms snake around his waist, while Bruce had placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder. Thor just let Tony rest his back on one of his great, golden wings, a gesture that Tony would file away for later. 

After everyone was comfortable, Tony looked around at the array of people who surrounded him, and, while it was a bit strange, he felt okay, like he could actually tell them what he was about to and not be killed out of spite. After receiving smiles and gentle nods of encouragement, Tony took a deep breath, letting the smell of orchids, the woods after a rain, and earthy sweetness fill his lungs. 

Then, he began. 

“Okay, so travel back to a zillion years ago where I am 16 years old and just had my first molt. Back then, I wanted to have the wings I have right now, the kestrel themed thing, but I didn’t end up with them. By the time I was 21, I had these shiny, shimmery blue things sprouting from my back, and I knew, right then, that I was no Alpha, like my parents wanted me to be.” 

Tony paused at the memory came back to him, of his father raging and storming from the room, and his mother just staring at him with disappointment clouding her brown eyes, her scent misty and sad. 

He continued. “Howard was fucking livid when he got me tested, just to make sure I wasn’t a freak, but an idiot could have detected what I really was. And when I was revealed as the sole beneficiary to Stark Industries, he was determined to make me an Alpha.” 

Tony paused again. He knew that what he was about to say was going to get some people very, very angry. Hopefully, some sanity, as well as his life, would be left when this story was over. He felt the anticipation grow, and he finally complied to the unspoken words. 

“He got me started on suppressants and scent-blockers and the dye, and I played the Alpha part well enough that no one questioned my orientation.” 

And there was the eruption. There was no sound or movement from the group, but the amount of angered and distressed scents that came flooding out of the people surrounding him was enough to make even Pepper recoil. She had heard this story before, but Tony deliberately left some details out, knowing that giving Pepper too much information was a little too dangerous. No offense to Pepper, of course, but Tony grew up being suspicious. 

Wanting to move the story on, Tony spoke again.

“By the time my parents had passed, I was too well known for being an Alpha to revert back. I had so much riding on my reputation, and I had gotten so much respect from highly respected people that coming out would have been suicide. It still is suicide… But I loved it. I loved the feeling of being untouchable, that I could make people do my will at the flick of a wrist. I loved it enough that it almost cancelled out my inner demons. I lived my whole life shoving down the Omega that I was. But, of course, I was reminded every month that I wasn’t what they thought I was. When I was younger, I used the extra rush, and occasional pain, to cut some of the toughest business deals I’d ever dealt with.” 

Pepper snickered. “I was there for a few of them. Remember Joshua Reckald?” 

Tony laughed. “Do I? I loved scaring the shit out him. But that wasn’t always my heat. He was a douchebag.” 

“That I can agree with,” Pepper remarked, nodding her head. 

“Anyway, I kind of welcomed the suppression because I always felt that my personality was better suited to an Alpha, but I hated the secrecy and mental torture that came with it, the idea that I couldn’t have a long-term sexual relationship with anyone because of my true gender. And, because of that, I’m the fucked up person I am today.” 

Tony left out the part about Afghanistan. All they really did was force him to build a bomb. Weirdly enough, they didn’t ever rape him, but they enjoy pulling on his feathers when he got mouthy. 

“And that includes my minor fear of Alphas and the fucking hatred of my fucking wings.” 

As he said this, Tony’s wings shook with anger and torment. He was fine with being an Omega, truthfully, but his wings, the wings that were not supposed to be powerful, that were made for running away, was his biggest reveal. He hated it. 

Behind him, Pepper tutted, as if she had heard this a thousand times (which she had). “Jesus Christ, Tony.” She turned to everyone else. “He’s just being a drama queen. His wings are actually quite beautiful. The first time I saw them, I was speechless, but I was very quickly asked to leave.” Tony glared at her, but Pepper kept going. “The only reason he hates them is because he didn’t qualify for this one long-distance flight when he was 27.” 

“Not true, Pepper!” Tony groaned. 

“Yes, it is, you son of a bitch, and you know it,” Pepper snapped, wings perking up just a little.

“I bet your wings are really pretty, Tony,” murmured Natasha, nuzzling her nose into Tony’s neck, searching for that scent that had caused such a tizzy the last few days. He jerked when he felt it, and he wasn’t exactly ready to let people smell his scent voluntarily, but Natasha refused to move. 

“But, Tony, how come, if you’ve been scent suppressing for so long, that we could smell you?” asked Bruce.

Tony grimaced, but answered. “The order of scent suppressors that I needed was tainted, so, instead of letting myself be revealed all at once, I opted of prolonged agony instead of imminent death. Fair enough?” 

“Yes, Tony,” Bruce said, rolling his eyes. 

Then, Bucky pipped in. “How did you suppress if you still felt the pain of the heat?” 

Tony felt nervous butterflies begin to emerge in his gut. These were the kinds of questions that he didn’t want to answer, but, knowing that his flock wouldn’t stand for anything other than the truth, he relented. 

“Well, Buck, the urges were still there, but they were damped by a considerable amount, and others people couldn’t smell me, so really, I was on my own with it. Trust me, it wasn’t fun.”

“But, Tony, why did you never come to us if you needed assistance.” Thor. Thor, who was using his goddamn puppy voice, and Tony couldn’t not answer. 

Gritting his teeth, Tony mumbled his answer. “Fear is a pretty powerful thing, Thor-boy.” 

“You’re afraid of us?” Everybody’s heads snapped up when a certain bread-and-clay-scented Beta spoke up. Tony met Clint’s eyes, and, for once, he was at a loss for words. If he lied, they would know immediately, but if he told the truth, many, many feelings would be hurt. So, Tony chose the lesser of two evils. 

“I am.”

Clint’s whole body bent in hurt and shame. “But… What did we ever do to you?” 

Tony put his hands up, moving away from Natasha and Bruce’s grip. “No, you guys did nothing! It’s just…”

“Just what, Tony? That you hate us? That you think of us just as teammates? That you don’t trust us? That—.”

In that moment, Steve and Bucky, who were in the closest proximity to Clint, and jumped up and growled so low and chest-rumbling that Tony was dead certain that he felt the vibrations through the floor. It was weirdly exhilarating that the Alphas thought he was worth protecting, and Clint was being an asshole, but truly, Tony couldn’t blame him. If Tony was in the same situation, he’d be pissed, too. 

Clint glared at Steve, who was closer to him than Bucky, but he shut his mouth and looked away, defeated for now. 

Natasha had nestled her head back in the niche between Tony’s neck and shoulder, and Tony could feel that Natasha had started to growl too, the vibrations on his neck tickling him. He tried to hide his smile by covering his mouth with a hand, and tried to get back to talking serious. 

“No, Clint, none of those options are even remotely close to what the reasons actually are, so call down, asshole. To be honest, I don’t really know why I was afraid, but I can tell you that it’s not because I hate you, at all. I… I really don’t know…” And Ton dropped his eyes, looking at the floor. 

Tony really didn’t. He had watched, for a few years now, his team get better acquainted with each other and become friends, lovers, and a flock. Sure, he had trailed along, but from very, very far behind. He had helped them when they needed it, given them his house for Christ’s sake, but he always recoiled when they inquired. He was used to not having that kind of contact, the kind where there was more than just lust behind the actions. He wasn’t used to having loving feelings aimed towards him. 

Not his fault really, just what life dealt him. 

But, as he was surrounded by comforting scents and reassuring hands and caring smiles, Tony felt a little more lift off his shoulders. Against his better judgement, he pressed into Natasha mouth, which was resting against a scent gland. She smiled into his neck and kissed him right where her mouth was, enjoying the shiver that traveled through Tony’s skin. She then lifted her head and stared into his eyes, deeply and lovingly, and she whispered to him. 

“Don’t worry, Tony.” And she smiled at him. 

As Tony gave her a little grin back, he felt Pepper running her hands through his wings, and, with a jolt, turned to look at her. 

“Pepper! What the hell?” Tony shrieked. Pepper just gave him very suspicious smirk.   
“She’s right, Tony. Don’t worry.” And with that, Pepper withdrew her hands from Tony’s dyed wings, but when Tony looked back at them, the tips of his natural feathers were peeking through in the spaces where Pepper had been running her hands. The blue stood out like a sore thumb in his matte feathers, and Tony was afraid to even move, lest he show his team more of his true colors, show them more of the wings that he hated. 

Yep, he was going to fucking kill Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hides behind laptop* It is okay? I know that it might not be what everyone wanted to see, but there needed to be little fluff, so here, take it. I made it for you, so please, enjoy it! 
> 
> Leave comments, especially here because I need to know what ways you guys want this to go so I can get inspired! 
> 
> I LOVE YOU! <3


	12. Feathered Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonding moments on the couch and Pepper keeps Tony sane... again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know I was gone for a long time, but school, life, and other things can take over my existence, so I'm suffering as much as you guys are when I don't update for months. 
> 
> Warning, this chapter was kinda thrown together, so next chapter will better. Pinky promise.

Tony sat stiffly on the couch, afraid to move, nervous to actually let his real feathers peak through the ones he was accustomed to having. As silently as she could, Pepper, the little shit, had tiptoed away to the kitchen to presumably make herself a drink, and Tony was left alone without any physical or emotional support. All he could do was pray that no one would notice. He knew it was a prayer that would never be answered, but hey, an Omega could dream! 

Natasha, who still had her lips pressed against Tony’s neck, felt the tense energy radiating off him, and she lifted her head to stare at him. But, something caught her eye. She had looked down just enough to see little shimmers of blue spots at the very tips of Tony’s kestrel feathers. She twisted her head to look more, but Tony flinched, scooting away from her. Her forest-y eyes softened and she pouted at him. 

“Come on, Tony. It can’t be that bad,” she whispered. 

Tony was about to object, but then Natasha ran her fingers over the top of his wing and a clump of clay-ish dye stuck to her fingers, revealing the whole row gorgeous feathers hiding underneath. Natasha gasped, getting the attention of everyone else in the room. 

“What, Natasha?” asked Steve, and Natasha turned her head and held up her dye-covered hand. 

The room hushed into deathly silence.

Tony was the color of beets. “Excuse me, you didn’t ask permission to remove that!”

But Natasha just swiveled her head to face Tony and gave him an incredulous face. “Well, what exactly are you going to do about it, Tony? I doubt you can just reapply it with your bare hands.” 

Tony’s red skin evolved into magenta, and he sputtered. 

“Oh, for God’s sake, Tony.” That was Pepper. “Get over it. I’ve said it before, I will fucking say it again, you are being a drama queen.” Bourbon in hand, Pepper padded over, set the glass down on the small table, and grabbed Tony’s face with both hands. Feeling the coolness of the chilled alcohol seep from her fingers into his face, Tony felt himself slowly relaxed, and Pepper didn’t let go until Tony’s breathing evened out and his face wasn’t the color of eggplants. When he finally had the courage to look Pepper in the face, she smiled very lightly at him. “Listen to me, Stark. As I have told you before, you are amazing. You are beautiful. Tony, you are worth way more than what you think you are, and, regardless of whatever the fuck Howard told you, you are perfectly fine just the way you are, down to the very last piece of the sarcastic, narcissistic bastard. But, like always, you will tell me that no, you’re not, and tell me to shut up. But, maybe the people who matter to you can convince you otherwise.” 

Momentarily, Tony forgot about his hate, and his face soften as well when he heard Pepper praise. “Good God, Pepper. You matter to me, you—.” But, the sable-haired Omega was cut short when he felt a hand scrape its way through his covered feathers, and, judging by the size of the fingers and how calloused they were, Tony made the assumption that they were Thor’s. When he eeped, he turned his head to the side, and, sure enough, Thor’s arm was extended over the back of the couch and his hand disappeared right where Tony’s wings began. 

Tony tried to squirm and get away as he felt another clump of dye be lifted from his feathers, but Pepper pulled his focus back to her tightening her hold on his face. “Tony, Tony, it’s okay. They won’t hurt you, you know that. It’s okay, Tony. You’re fine. It’s all okay.” And damn it, if Pepper’s Alpha voice was calming him beyond rationality, he could blame it all on the biology, the same stupid fucking biology that had screwed him over more times than he could count. “Calm down, Tony. You’ve been suffering and hiding and escaping for long enough, and it’s time for you to stop. Let us in, Tony.”

Pepper kept talking to Tony, murmured into his ears sweet nothings and calming words, and the longer she did, Tony mellowed. More and more hands started to rub his feathers, more and more hands began to lift away clumps of brownish-blueish-grayish dye, and Tony felt his feathers get lighter and lighter. 

And he was panicking. He was completely and utterly panicking. 

He didn’t want anyone to see his feathers. He didn’t was to flaunt his blueness around. He didn’t want to have to explain his reasoning to anyone anymore. He wanted to be left alone. He didn’t want his—he could barely say it—flock to pull him out of his little, secure place that he had been in for so many years. He wanted to stay where he was! But… 

He was kind of sick of the lies. He was tired of having to pretend he was okay every time his heat rolled around. He was done with being super duper careful whenever he fought or was touching someone. He was done with scent repressors that didn’t do their job. And he cared about his flock. He wanted to be better for them because even though they deserved way better than him, they should at the very least have a functioning super-genius hanging around. 

Yeah, yeah. This might be okay. 

Pepper kept talking to the azure-winged Omega, her voice being the only sound in the wide room. Every once in a while, a little whimper or a light gasp or an appreciative sigh would disrupt Pepper’s monologue, and as more and more dye began to stick to fingertips and stain the floor and smear across the back of the couch, Tony shook his wings, feeling restless and a little itchy. Once, twice, three times Tony’s feathers vibrated, and the remaining dye splatted on the floor. 

“Come on, Tony. It’s okay.” 

No other words followed Pepper’s final sentence, and Tony just shivered under the eyes of his flock members. Even Clint had gotten up and pulled his fingers through Tony’s appendages. Pepper let go of Tony’s face, giving him freedom, but Tony was afraid to speak. The silence was think and sharp, and Tony was scared to move, let alone say anything, lest he shatter the delicate emotions around him. He kept staring at Pepper, and her baby blue eyes were open, forgiving, the eyes of an innocent animal. Tony rarely ever saw the Alpha this caring and compassionate. 

A quiet peep disintegrated the silence. 

“Wow, Tony. They’re… They’re…”

“Stunning.”

“Gorgeous.”

“Lovely.”

“Beautiful.” 

“The shit!”

“Bucky!”

“What?”

“Really? ‘The shit’?” 

“What? It’s my honest opinion.”

Tony was pretty sure the banter was between Steve and Bucky, and he smiled despite his nervousness. There were still hands combing through his feathers, and the comforting actions were also helping calm his nerves. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Natasha smiling like an idiot, grooming Tony’s feathers with gentle fervor, and Tony smiled with her. Thor traced the top of Tony’s wing and smoothed the feathers there, touching the wings as lightly and calmly as he could. Tony was almost asleep. 

Tony heard padding on his left side, and when he turned his head, he was put face-to-face with a certain cloud-gray-blue-winged Beta. Tony almost recoiled, but held his ground. Clint’s furrowed expression didn’t change. He simply sat down next to Tony and leaned against his shoulder, and Pepper allowed him to. Tony almost missed the “I’m sorry,” but the whisper was full of sadness and fear and anticipation, and Tony would be concerned about a proper apology later. Right now, there were other things of his mind. 

Just as he was about to say something, a ring echoed through the room, startling the group. 

“Sir, a Dr. Marlene on the line,” JARVIS called out. 

Groggily, Tony tried to put more words together. “Put her on the house phone, J.”

“Tony,” said Bruce. “Is this private? Do you want us to leave?”

Tony shook his head. “No, no. It’s fine. Just be quiet.”

“Will do,” Steve replied,still running his surprisingly soft hands through Tony’s peacock wings. 

Tony smiled, then reached over Natasha and picked up the phone. “Hello, Doctor.”

“Tony! Hello! How are you?”

Tony grinned, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “It’s kinda complicated, Doc.” 

And he thoroughly enjoyed the shocked silence that followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, was it at least okay? Let me know if you guys want me to edit this or just make the next chapter super good. YOUR CALL!
> 
> Thanks, you guys. Your support means a lot to me! 
> 
> XOXO LittleStarredSky


	13. Guess Who's Here!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tries to finish unfinished business, there's a few explosions, and now there's a little more tension than normal... All thanks to a little green giggler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I've been gone forever, but shut up and read your chapter. It's actually getting interesting again. I heard from several of you who were asking "Where the hell are all the villains?" So, naturally, I put in a villain, and, believe it of not, it actually will heavily affect the rest of the story. But, fair warning, I'm crap at writing action, so if it's kinda bad, I'm sorry... :)

Tony grinned, even though he knew Dr. Marlene couldn’t see it. “It’s kinda complicated, Doc.” Steve chuckled. 

“Oh,” Dr. Marlene answered knowingly. “I know. Pepper called me this morning. I suppose they all got through to you.”

Tony’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Pepper called you? How the hell did—.” He turned his head and gave Pepper his worst glare, then turned back to the phone. “One moment, please,” he said as sweet as could be. Twisting his whole body, he faced Pepper, fear barely present in his smaller frame. “Really, Pepper? How did you even—.”

“Her number was on the fridge, Tony,” Pepper interrupted, as if that was a perfectly valid reason. 

Tony gave her resting bitch face. “And? Why would you call a number that you didn’t know?”

“Well, it is listed under ‘Dr. Angela Marlene,’ so I figured that it couldn’t be that bad.”

“Pepper, you’re missing the point.”

Pepper’s eyes narrowed and the air became a little spicy. “Oh, you mean the point about you having a secret doctor that gave you suppressors and dye and helped you create your little façade?”

The room went from hushed murmurs to curious silence, but Tony shipped in without missing a beat. “Yes, that one! She was secret for a reason, obviously! And I get that it’s all about ‘Alphas helping out the little Omegas’ in this world, bu—.”

“Careful, Tony,” Bruce whispered, but Tony kept ranting. 

“But that is no reason to invade my privacy and listen to my doctor rant about how I need to get off the this shit and be normal, even if that is way out of the question for me and—“

BAM!

A shockwave from a very near-by explosion sent people flying and glasses crashing to the floor and Tony right in Natasha’s chest. Dr. Marlene was screaming, Tony could hear her, and he quickly held the phone up to his ear. “Sorry, Doc, but I have to go. There’s a bit of an emergency.” 

Steve called out to the group, but all Tony could think about was how a really good bottle of scotch was lying broken on the tile. 

“Is everyone okay?” he asked. When no one answered in pain, Steve shouted to the highly alert flock. “Avengers, assemble.” 

And everyone was out, including Tony. He’d deal with Pepper later. 

* * * 

Tony had just enough time to put on a little scent suppressors as to not draw too much attention, and thankfully the armor covered his wings. He crosses his fingers for a normal, average amateur bomb-maker who was just being an asshole today. No weird encounters.

Oh, boy. 

* * *

While the team was soaring through the New York City streets, Fury came over the intercoms. 

“I assume that you heard the blast.”

Hawkeye chuckled. “Indeed we did. Heading to Central Park now. Got eyes on anyone?”

“Why, yes, we do. I hope Thor’s ready for a little family reunion.”

Everyone groaned simultaneously. 

“Not again,” moaned Tony. “He can’t just take a hint.”

“Well, he wouldn’t be Asgaurdian if he wasn’t stubborn as a buldark,” answered Thor. 

“Buldark?” asked Bucky. “What the fuck is a—?”

BAM!

A second explosion. 

Captain America furrowed his brow. “Let’s kick it into high gear. Soldier, Thor, follow me. Rest of you, hang back. Loki will most likely evade us, so be ready for backlash.” And off he shot, Bucky and Thor close behind. Tony hung back behind Black Widow while Hawkeye picked a lovely perch on a very well covered landing deck. If only Thor could see him now, Tony thought. 

Black Widow took off down a street, as Tony, knowing the assassin well enough, knew not to follow. He’d keep going straight and do a little damage control. 

“JARVIS?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Kick the suit into Alpha 6 mode. That should activate all the receptors. And keep an eye out for a god in a little green dress.”

“Will do, sir.”

The sounds of moving metal and well-oiled joints scraped against each other as the suit morphed, minimizing weak point, readying weapons, and going on to high alert. When Tony got to the affected area, he immediately starting pulling people from under trees and directing them to safe places, instructing them to keep their hands protecting their heads and to find safety before worrying about anyone else. He swiftly helped mothers find their children and a few teenagers pull their friends from under a steel beam, then carried a man with a badly broken arm over to the ambulances collecting near the park. Tony took a deep breath and assessed the situation while putting benches out of explosion radius. So far, there had been no deaths, just injuries, no major buildings had been attacked, unless you counted that little metal gazebo and that larger steel plaza-thingy, and no evil armies. Loki wanted to get the Avengers’ attention. Now the question was ‘why?’

BAM!

Another explosion ripped through the air, sending Ironman flying backwards and taking a bench with him. Immediately, Tony intercom-ed the team. 

“Just got a huge explosion by me, guys.”

Hawkeye answered. “Did you see him?”

“Negative. These might just be booby-trap bombs.”

Captain America spoke. “Booby-trap bombs?”

Tony rolled his eyes. He had to explain everything to these guys. “Think about it, Capsicle. No dead bodies so far, no major buildings falling, and no giant, Earth-destroying armies. Loki’s not after world-domination this time. I-I think he just wants out attention.” Tony puled himself up off the ground and surveyed the area again. He was just piecing out a bit of the plaza-thingy when JARVIS’s silent alarm went off. Slowly, Tony turned around, and was quickly face-to-face with a certain god in a little green dress, complemented by the forest green, gold-tipped Alpha wings that towered high behind him. Tony’s conscience rolled his eyes. Alphas, always trying to impress. 

Subtly, he alerted the team with the silent tracking device, telling them to be quiet and only move in if need be. 

Loki smiled. “Greeting, Man of Iron. Surprised to see me?”

Tony shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, but felt his wings cower beneath his firm outer shell. “Not particularly. It has been a little too quiet for too long. I was expecting it just a wee bit.”

Loki’s face fell. “You mean to say that my arrival was expected and prepared for?”

“Well, inadvertently to the first and no to the second, my giggling green friend. But, believe me, there are better ways of getting our attention than explosions in our lovely Central Park.”

Loki’s smile returned, his Alpha pride swelling at the thought that his little plan worked. “And right now, I assume, you and I are surrounded by the best your world has to offer, including my beloved brother, waiting for you and I to battle, then swoop in and carry me off, back to my prison.”

“Yeah, that’s about it.”

“Well, you can relay to them that I’m glad I’ve been acknowledged. Be please, let them know that this is just the beginning of what might be a longer battle, as I’ve come here with a goal in mind.” Loki took a very deep breath, eyes narrowing in on Ironman, and Tony became the slightest bit nervous. 

Loki took a large stride forward, stopping just in front of the gold and red armor. Tony crossed his arms, feigning disinterest. Loki bent down a little, trying to push his status as Alpha over Tony. Now Tony was not only scared, but he was pissed. He wasn’t that short!

“What?” Tony snipped. 

“I intend to take this team apart in whatever means necessary.”

“Yeah, right.”

“You don’t believe me?” Loki asked sweetly. “Just be patient. All I need to do is see who relies on who the most and send them down to see Hel. You all may slide together most perfectly, but all I need to do is take one piece and the whole thing falls.”

Tony was completely silent and utterly thankful that Loki couldn’t see his face because Tony was sweating his scent suppressors off, he was so nervous. Loki’s face was really close to his and his wings were looming over him in a way that was definitely meant to be intimidating. Tony may be pretending to be anything other than Omega, but when in came down to it, he wasn’t, and when faced with an Alpha this powerful, all he wanted to do was hide in a small warm place and breathe through the anxiety,

Satisfied with his work, Loki’s grin turned more feral. “See you soon, Ironman.”

Tony moved in to punch Loki in his stupid fucking face, but in the blink of an eye, the god disintegrated, the small particles swirling up toward the sky. Tony watched the pieces leave his sight, watched as Thor roared when Loki disappeared, watched as Captain American threw his shield down and tried not to kick the rest of the gazebo over. Tony only shivered, thankful that Loki was gone, but now he was in slightly deeper shit. Now he had to explain to his team that Loki was planning to rip their team apart via some twisted kidnapping and killing plan, then take over the world because the Avengers would be too disheartened to fight. 

After he thought it over, Tony sighed. To be honest, Loki’s plan was a bit of a stretch. Sure, losing a teammate, a flock member, would be extremely painful, but the Avengers would never not fight. Their egos were too big. If anything, they’d fight harder to make sure that their teammate was avenged, no pun intended. 

Yeah, Tony thought. Loki’s got nothing on us.

So, against his better judgement, Tony decided to say as little as possible, maybe just enough to raise the alarm, but nothing else. He had faith. They’d be okay. 

After Captain America calmed down, he sauntered up to Tony and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, what did Loki say.”

Tony looked at his team leader, his flock mate, with a completely straight face and did what he did best: half-lied. 

“He’s just causing trouble. All he told me was about how he was bored and needed something to do, which includes making empty threats. I guess Loki is now the Joker.”

Captain America looked at Tony incredulously. “Really, that’s it? That’s strange.”

“It’s Loki. I don’t even expect anything anymore. Just keep your mind open, Cap,” Hawkeye said. 

Tony nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I mean, without an evil army, what’s the worst he can do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not as bad as it could have been, right? 
> 
> Please leave me love and comments and all that yummy stuff! 
> 
> XOXO LittleStarredSky


	14. Boundary Lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some conclusions are open-ended, others have a few distinct paths. But, conclusions that are set in stone are often hard to break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnnd I'm back! 
> 
> Have fun!

The team soared back to the Tower, determined to get some intel of Loki and his possible schemes. Tony watched New York cut by him and the people darting to get out of their way. A woman with bright red wings and silver hair screamed out “Thank you!” Tony recognized her. He had pulled her son out from under a fallen piece of metal. But, that was the only thanks or acknowledgement the Avengers received that day. 

Steve got back first, landed with a very hard, determined thump! on the landing platform. Tony swung around to the other side and set down on his own landing platform, letting his machines take off his iron coating. The second he was inside the building, Pepper squeezed him into a very large, desperate hug.

“Oh, thank God you’re okay, Tony.” She pulled away to twist his jaw back and forth in search of an injury. Tony let her. 

“All in a day’s work, Pep. Wasn’t anything big, really. Just Loki being, well, Loki,” Tony replied. 

Pepper groaned. “Not this bastard again.”

“Seriously,” called Clint from another room. “You’d think that he’d have taken a few solid defeats and just gone away. But no, he just has to keep coming back.” 

“Like a cockroach. An evil, dangerous, magical little cockroach,” said Steve. The group chuckled. 

“Aw, Steve, you made a funny. Good job,” said Bucky, fake, parent-y pride coming through his voice. 

Steve, ever the gentleman, whacked Bucky in the back of the head with a large, milky wing and scoffed. 

“Ow! Hey, watch where you’re putting that thing,” Bucky said, annoyed. 

Rolling his eyes, Steve set down his shield and pulled off his mask. Captain America was all business now, and Tony, observing with a relative distance between himself and the unmasking superheroes, trying to get a grasp of the team dynamic, something which he thought he barely contributed to. But, like the engineer and resident super-genius he was, he observed the big picture before he dove in with details. Loki’s words were still ringing in his frontal lobe, rattling his brain around until it was difficult to think about anything else. 

“You all may slide together most perfectly, but all I need to do is take one piece and the whole thing falls.” 

Tony shook his head to clear the words, but he knew he needed to keep them. He needed to see which piece of this team was irreplaceable. Besides, you know… Everyone. 

Shit.

Tony hardly computed that Steve was talking again, about battle strategies and safety measures and gathering intel and hey, Tony, are you listening? 

Tony’s head popped up. “What? What’d I miss?” 

Natasha shook her head, red-tipped feathers tensing with slight annoyance. “We were discussing how we should go about predicting Loki’s next move. But that’s rather difficult considering the only person who knows anything about it is you.” 

Tony froze. What did that mean? No, no, stop it, Stark. You’re over-thinking it. 

“Well, I suppose we could just try to track him. If his heart isn’t set on world-domination, we should just see if we could find leads or suppliers or bomb-builders or anyone that he would need to be in contact with to set these bombs off.”

“But what if he’s not going to set off another bomb? Then what?” asked Clint. 

Tony furrowed his brow. A decent question. He let his wings, again covered with the kestrel dye, sway back and forth while he pondered. A few minutes ticked by. Pepper sipped a brandy. Bruce nervously toyed with his black and white feathers, jumping when Bucky joined him. Steve was pacing, and Thor was staring of into space, wondering about what his brother could possibly be planning. 

Tony shifted from foot to foot, afraid to voice his own thoughts. Would the attacks escalate? Probably. Would Loki start to attack people? Most likely. Would buildings come down? Definitely. Could Avengers Tower be a target? Well, duh. Were the Avengers the target? You’re kidding me, right? But, what was Loki planning? 

Look, he was an engineer, not a soothsayer. 

In reality, no one really knew. No one said it, no one called it, no brave soul voiced what Tony could almost sense everybody thinking. The truth was they really didn’t know. All they could do was set up watches, amp-up JARVIS’s trackers, and plan for another bomb attack. That was all that they could do. Tony, as well as the people of New York, would have to wait and see. 

But in the meantime, Tony had press to tackle, so he relayed to JARVIS the list of things to do. 

“JARVIS? Do a few things for me, buddy. Start tracking for Loki’s face, including face-recognition and build-type. Also look for odd energy or radio-waves. And, uh, keep and eye out for anyone wearing synthetic feathers or copious amounts of wing dye. Loki will want to hid his appearance.”

At that last sentence, the room quieted down, and Tony could feel the eyes being bored into his back. “Yes, I’m a hypocrite,” Tony thought. “Get over it.”

“Oh, and also set up a meeting with the press to discuss today’s events.”

“Will do, sir.” And the AI bleeped out, beginning its tasks. 

Tony was almost afraid to turn around. When he did, he didn’t like it. Everyone was staring, and the mix of sad, angry, and disappointed was extremely angering. 

“What?” Tony asked incredulously. “Was it something I said.”

“Your wings are covered,” Bruce half-whispered. Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yeah, so?”

“Why?” 

Tony became red. 

“‘Why?’ What do you mean, ‘why?’ How about because we were just battling Loki, an Alpha, no less, and I didn’t feel like giving my gender away to a douchebag who has obviously tried everything to destroy our world. I could be his next little plan if I don’t play this super safe. Do you idiots really expect me to be flaunting my fucking wings around during a battle?”

His question was met with silence, but Tony knew what most of them were thinking. 

“I can’t believe this.”

“Tony.”

“I can’t believe that you’d really think that being out and about is the way to save the world.”

“Tony.”

“And furthermore, who gave you permission to—.”

“Tony!”

“What!” Tony screamed back just as loud, irritated that someone had interrupted his rant, but that mindset was quickly taken away when Steve was looming over him, and the air became charged and very, very spicy. It almost hurt to breathe. Large, white wings flared up and out, shadowing Tony completely, and Tony was suddenly a little to busy being nervous than to be pissed about the Alpha posturing. 

“Tony,” Steve rumbled, voice coming through the floor and up Tony’s spine. 

“What,” Tony replied, trying to sound strong and not at all affected by the anger. 

“Are you going to listen, or are you going to keep ranting about things that aren’t at all true?”

Tony took a moment to act like he was considering all options, ever though he knew that Steve would’t accepted anything other than “I’ll listen.”

Tony sighed. “Fine. I’m all ears.”

Steve took a deep breath, and feathers were lowered and folded away. “Tony, look, we all know you thinks it's not safe to walk around without dye, but we still want you to be comfortable with who you are. And that includes being yourself during battles.”

“Hold up. You realize that the chances of that happening now are smaller that Hell freezing over?”

“Tony,” Steve warned, and Bruce widened his eyes when Tony looked over. Nodding subtly, Tony understood the advice. Let’s not irritate the already irritated Alpha. Got it. 

“Yes, Steve. I get it. But believe me, I will not be wearing my weak, Omega colors anytime soon.”

Steve sighed. “Tony, you and I both now that wings do not reflect the human.”

Tony fumed. Yes, yes, they did. Alphas with bright colors were always douchebags. Betas were plain and dull and boring. Omegas were weak little bitches who needed to be coddled to stay alive and had to be fucked to keep from going crazy. Everyone was fucked up, but not as much as those at the bottom. They were defenseless and voiceless and no gave a flying rat’s ass about their ideas and values and… 

“I need some fresh air,” Tony said, and he swooshed out the door before he strangled somebody. 

Natasha shook her head. “You know, Cap, asking him to do that was not a good choice.”

“Why is he acting like that? I don’t understand it,” Steve wondered. 

“Rogers, you don’t know Tony’s whole story. He might have told us what happened and how he feels, but only the bare minimum. But we don’t know the real damage. Tony has very, very old emotional wounds that controlled his entire life.”

“But—,” Steve started. 

Natasha leapt up from were she was sitting from on her chair and got in Steve’s face, wings up and angry, and the room began to stink of burning orchids.

“Now you fucking listen to me, Rogers. You have no right to decide when or how Tony heals. That is not your place, even as Flock Alpha. You expect us to treat you with respect and not cross your boundaries. Do the same fucking thing for Tony.” 

Steve bristled. “As Flock Alpha, it is my duty to take care of you guys!”

“Yes, you’re right! But pushing a mentally and emotionally scarred Omega past very well-built and maintained lines is not. Tony’s already been hurt. Don’t shove the knife deeper.” Natasha suddenly got very quiet. The room stilled and listened, but even Steve could barely hear what she said next. 

“One day, the knife will push in hard enough to be unable of being taken out again.”

And Natasha left the room, determined to find a seething Omega genius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how did you like it? I'm trying to update a little more frequently, but it's resulting in slightly smaller chapters. Sorry! Finals are approaching way too fast, so I might disappear for a week or two, but don't give up on me! Winter break = longer chapters that are up faster! 
> 
> P.S. Any issues with Steve will be solved. Pinky-promise with sugar on top.


	15. Conversation Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Natasha, Bruce and Bucky. Feel free to ship your little hearts out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back. I'm sorry that this is so late and so short. I had winter break, and I would have written way more, but I had two separate mouth surgeries because of my severely impacted wisdom teeth. Yes, it hurts, and yes, it severely hindered my ability to write. So, please accept my apology and read my chapter with love and support. The pain medications have made me a little drowsy, so please excuse any mistakes or general low-quality-ness. 
> 
> WARNING: BREIF MOMENT OF STRESS-INDUCED FEATHER PULLING! IF THIS IS A TRIGGER, TREAD CAREFULLY!
> 
> Thank you!

Tony pattered loudly down the stairs to his workshop, determined to crank and twist and wrench away his hostility toward one particular Flock Alpha. “Wow,” Tony said to himself. “Widow called Steve ‘Flock Alpha.’ That has to prove that he’s pretty important, right? Right?” Again, Loki’s words were shoved into the forefront of his brain, and Tony sighed heavily. Of all the things weighing on his mind, this once was the least pleasant. And the thought of Steve being taken away? That sent the bad kind of shivers down Tony’s spine. 

Again, Tony thought over the idea of loosing anyone on his team, and the loss of each person was met with the same response: fear, hopelessness, tragedy, and other emotions that Tony couldn’t put a name to. Tony resisted, but tears bubbled up anyway. 

“Who is the one that holds us together?” Tony asked the empty air, as if it would actually respond to him. Begrudgingly, Tony wiped the tears away. Admitting defeat for now, and insistent to think about something else, Tony open up his new plans for the Mark 50 and began to do what he did best: tinker. 

* * *

Natasha silently swooped through Avengers Tower, attempting to locate her Omega teammate, but after turning most corners and checking most hidden spaces, Natasha drew the conclusion that Tony was in his workshop, hammering away his emotions. Natasha scoffed. Typical Tony, running away and hiding, only emerging when he was calmer and had decompressed, refusing to talk about what was bothering him. Her suspicions were confirmed when she glided down the stairs to Tony’s special space only to find it on lock-down and unable to open for anyone except the Stark super-genius himself. 

Natasha had half a mind to bang on the door and demand entrance, but she knew it would be a fruitless effort. She could get in if she really tired, but disturbing Tony would cause more trouble than what it was worth for now. She had yelled at Steve when he refused to give Tony respect, now she was going to give Tony that respect. She placed a hand on the metal door, letting the coolness seep into her fingers. 

“Come on out, Tony.” She murmured to the air. “No more hiding.”

And with that, Natasha was gone. 

* * *

Several hours later, back in the common room, Bruce was shaking on the couch and inhaling a carton of mint chocolate ice cream that no one bothered putting their name on. Nerves had gotten to him again, causing tiny little mosquitoes of thought to buzz around his brain, sucking more and more panic into the good doctor. Too soon the ice cream was gone, and Bruce was manically pulling and tugging on his feathers, twitching fingers unable to calm down. The tugs were starting to hurt, but Bruce needed to get a grip. He needed to calm down. But Tony had him really worried. He knew that something was a little off. 

Bruce was about to actually start pulling out his feathers, but a pine-woody, metallic scent came into Bruce’s nose. The scent was watery, but slightly sharp as well. Great. A sad Bucky, Bruce could handle that. An angry Bucky, Bruce could handle that, too. But both? At once? That could only mean that Bruce had been caught stress-preening. Not his favorite position to be in. 

“Bruce? What are you doing?” A deep, rough voice came from behind Bruce’s frozen figure. 

“S-short truth? Or long?” Bruce asked shakily after a few moments. 

Bucky came up behind him and rested his hands on the base of Bruce’s wings, massaging gently, trying to calm the scientist, but his movements got a little rougher when he saw the few black and white feathers on the floor. 

“You’ve been pulling again.” It wasn’t a question, and normally Bruce would deny it at least a little bit, but tonight he hadn’t the energy. 

“Yeah. A little,” came the whimpered reply. 

Bucky huffed. “You know that isn’t good for you. How many times have Steve and I told you to say something when you are about to—.”

“Yes, Bucky, I know,” Bruce interrupted. He really couldn’t stand one of Bucky’s lectures right now. There was already too much to be worried about. But Bruce could feel Bucky’s eyes on him, surprised by the interruption, but also curious about what could possibly be upsetting the Beta. Bruce decided to enlighten the prying Alpha. “I’m just quite concerned about this whole thing. About Tony. About us. About, well, everything. And with the seemingly meaningless attacks from Loki, there’s something missing, Buck. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.”

Bucky hummed and began to rub Bruce’s wing-bones again, pulling a satisfied groan out of the shorter man. Bucky felt the tension drain from Bruce’s shoulders, the way that Bruce would start to do that light little rumble. Not quite a hum, but not quite a purr, something in between, and it calmed Bucky’s nerves more than anything else. Pouncing over the back of the couch, Bucky began to run his fingers through Bruce’s feathers, grooming them, touching all the places that he knew would send the Beta into a more relaxed state. 

Bruce smiled as he felt Bucky run his calloused hands through his delicate feathers, secretly loving how gentle and caring Bucky was being. He adored this side of the Alpha, the soft, tender part that Bucky would bring to the surface exactly when Bruce needed it. As older, tattered feathers fell from the salt-and-peppered wings, Bruce started to scoot closer and closer to Bucky’s solid warmth, letting the Alpha get nearer to the more sensitive feathers at the base of the Bruce’s wings. 

Bucky reached his wings forward and wrapped them around Bruce, enveloping the two bodies in soft, feathery warmth. Bruce sighed heavily. “Thank you, Buck.”

“No problem, Brucie,” Bucky replied lowly, his lips meeting the back of Bruce’s neck, earning a soft breath from the Beta. “But, if I catch you puling again—.”

“Yes, yes, I know. I’ll get into trouble and have to answer to Steve,” Bruce replied, exasperated. “I’ll try.”

“Good,” Bucky rumbled against Bruce’s back. “You better keep that promise.”

Bruce smirked. “I’ve promised nothing.” A green and blue wingtip tapped him on the face.

“Yes, you have.”

“Make me.”

•••

The next morning, Tony emerged from his workshop and slid his way into the kitchen where a pile of extremely fresh chocolate-ship cookies sat atop a large, yellow plate. The smell was phenomenal. And when he turned to his left he found two human beings dozing upon the couch, wings and feathers and arms and legs thrown everywhere. The scent there was also phenomenal, just in a, um, different way. Tony decided to grab Ms. Marten’s All Natural, Earth Friendly Scent and Wing Oil Remover for All Surfaces and set it on the table adjacent to the sleeping pair, just in case. 

But not before stuffing about four cookies in his mouth for the road. 

Tony planned to glide back down into his workshop, but he was stopped by a solid wall of lovely smelling orchid scent, which, of course, meant The Widow was near. Tony turned the corner and immediately ran into the assassin whose wings were held very high and scent billowing off her in a way that was meant to both intimidate and sooth, and boy, was it throwing Tony for a loop. 

“Tony.”

“Y-yeah?” Tony tried to get a grip on his head, and the scent was slowly clearing. How did the scent affect him so much? How the hell did—?

“Are you okay?” came Natasha’s oddly concerned voice. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” Tony replied. 

“Really, because you’re about to fall over,” Natasha commented, snatching Tony’s arm and keeping him steady. “Have you had anything to eat or drink in 12 hours?” Tony’s fluttering wings of dazed appearance was all Natasha needed to confirm her theory. “Come on, Ironrod,” Natasha sighed. “You need breakfast.”

“Natasha,” Tony wondered, still woozy. “It’s 6:45 in the morning. Aren’t you going to wake up the entire world with the banging around?”

“No,” came the short reply. “I won’t.”

Tony let himself be dragged to the kitchen and sat down in a bar stool while Natasha tittered about, cracking eggs and pulling out flour and sugar and orange juice, all the while trying not to wake Bruce or Bucky. In as few as 15 minutes, there was a pile of pancakes sitting in front of Tony’s face, complete with fresh butter, syrup, and a couple strawberries. And, of course, cookies. Before he knew it, Tony as halfway through the stack and had a gorgeous Alpha smiling at him as if he had given her the best gift she had ever received. The orchid scent had become sweeter, more defined, and Tony was immediately suspicious. Wiping his mouth, Tony looked up at Natasha, pulling his wings back and trying to appear a little more… professional. 

“What’s the deal, Widow? You buttering me up?” Tony asked cautiously. 

“What? I can’t be kind to a teammate once in a while?” Natasha asked back, innocence seeping into her voice, wings swaying and tensionless. 

Tony grinned. “Widow, if you were gonna be nice to anyone, it would be Birdbrain, even if you do owe me a lot. But really, what do you want?”

Natasha considered it for a moment, as if she actually had to think about it. She knew that Tony, as rambunctious and blunt and charming as he was, could see through bullshit almost as easy as he could dish it out. And she was a hardened assassin. She didn’t sugarcoat anything. 

Well, good to know they were on equal footing. 

“I want to make sure that you’re okay.” Not a lie. 

“Really?” Tony replied. “That’s new.”

Natasha made a face. “It is?”

“Yeah. It is,” Tony quipped, wings flapping slowly. “Especially since you’ve done nothing but watch me eat these stupidly delicious pancakes. Give it up, Romanoff. What do you want?”

Natasha’s wings tensed a little, but she stayed overall relaxed. Sighing, Natasha just gave the semi-secret Omega what he asked of her. “I want to know if you’re hiding something from us.”

Now it was Tony’s turn to tense up. “What do you mean?”

“I feel like Steve hurt you yesterday, and, instead of talking to anyone, you ran off like you always do.” Natasha watched Tony’s reaction carefully. Other than stiffened wings, Tony seemed indifferent, but Natasha wasn’t convinced. “Now that we have Loki terrorizing the city again, we need the trust, Stark. And that includes you.”

Now Tony was getting a little irritated. “Well, it’s obvious that Steve doesn’t trust me. Apparently, I can’t even make my own decisions about how I want to present myself.”

“Do you understand where he’s coming from, Tony?” Natasha asked carefully.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Natasha. “Now, don’t you start with me, Romanoff.” 

Natasha looked over Tony’s body language. All she could see was hunched shoulders, rising wings, a tight glare. Okay, Natasha. time to back off. 

“Sorry, Tony,” Natasha said with a lower voice. “ I didn’t mean to—.”

“Stab the knife deeper?”

Natasha’s eyes shot up, meeting Tony’s in a hurt, painful stare, and she almost whimpered. “Oh, God, Tony, you heard that?” 

Tony nodded solemnly. “I can’t believe that you and Steve argued over that. And all the stuff with Loki…” 

A warm hand wrapped around his own, and Tony felt himself relax a little. 

“Tony.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m being irrational. Again.” 

And before Natasha could stop him, Tony was out the door. She was about to go and chase after him when Fury’s voice came over the speakers. 

“Rise and shine, pansies!” His voice bellowed. “Loki sighting in the downtown subway system. Get your asses down there! NOW!”

And within 10 minutes, everyone was up and out. Even Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Leave me love!
> 
> Ending was a bit rushed, but now we can move on to more action! YEA!


	16. Feeding the Little Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's another run in with our favorite green giggler and Tony get treated in a way he's not used to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO! So, I decided that you guys needed a chapter up relatively fast, and it's about 2,500 words, so it's also decently long, and there's a little bit of fluff at the end because I was feeling sugary. I'm trying to get on a more regular update schedule, and now that my face isn't hurting, I can do so realistically. I'll let you guys know when I settle on a time/ day to update! 
> 
> I hope you like my new chapter!
> 
> (P.S. The chapter title has two meanings! Can you decode them?)

Natasha was, of course, quite disappointed when she wasn’t able to convince Tony that no, he wasn’t being irrational, he was just expressing feelings, and as soon as Fury clicked off the intercom, she let a nice, loud, singular “FUCK!” ring through the kitchen and sitting area before darting off to prepare for the possible worst. 

5 minutes later, everyone was collected on the landing balcony, Steve giving directions and dishing out orders, Thor tensing and relaxing his wings, Clint rolling his neck and flaring his wings out, and Bruce looking off into space with a nervous expression. Natasha was already in the air, waiting for the others to join her. Steve would most likely give her her directions when they got there. She was a bit of a special case. Tony clanked out onto the platform and crossed his arms, listening to the Flock Alpha absently, ready to just get out of this damn house which was causing him so many issues.

“Alright, does everyone know the plan?” asked Captain America sternly. After receiving affirmatives from everybody, Captain America leapt from the balcony and soared off behind Black Widow, the rest of the Avengers close behind. 

After a few moments of being suspended in the air, Ironman asked an interesting question. “So, does anyone know where in the subway we are supposed to go?”

Then, as if on cue, Fury came over the coms. “23rd Street, Mister Stark.”

“What?” exclaimed Ironman. “That’s, like, 15 minutes away by flight. We’re gonna lose him.”

“We’ve got some people keeping an eye on him and others checking the area for bombs, but this isn’t exactly a National Guard moment yet, so break some flight speeds and GET YOUR MOTHERFUCKING ASSES THERE ASAP!” And Fury was gone again. 

“Jesus, does he always have to scream all the time?” muttered Ironman, signaling for JARVIS to find the quickest way to the 23rd Street stop. 

“That’s what she said,” Clint whispered into the com, earning him a glare from Captain America and a nice wing smack from the Winter Soldier. 

“Focus, Hawkeye. We’ve got civilians we need to save,” commented the white-winged Alpha. 

“As always,” remarked Ironman. 

Black Widow caught an air current and swooped a little closer to Ironman, smirking and then frowning. She really wished that Loki could have chosen a better time to be a dick.

* * *

11 minutes and 34 seconds later, the Avengers were in the Subway station, trying to take down a very talented trickster in a very small place. While the Hulk hadn’t transformed yet and was ushering people out of harm’s way with Black Widow and Hawkeye, Thor, Ironman, Captain America, and the Winter Soldier were keeping Loki busy. 

This proved to be a difficult feat.

Loki was all over the place, dodging attacks and firing his own shots with assorted magical tricks and traps, but the longer he did so, the more angered and energized everyone became, especially Thor and the Winter Soldier. Well, everyone except Ironman, that is. He had been defending everyone from the blows and falling debris as well as the concrete Loki was currently hurling toward their way. Mark 48 wasn’t holding up very well against all on the damage being taken. “Huh,” Tony thought as a few gears got jammed from pebbles. “I need to make this a little more damage and debris resistant.”

Finally, finally, Captain American was able to get an injuring shield-blow on Loki, and he fell to the ground, golden, forest-green wings splayed out and matted with dirt and a little blood which was not entirely his own. Tony absently noticed that his teammates were sporting several cuts and missing a few feathers, while the Winter Solider might have sustained a minor concussion and Thor a battered nose. 

Captain America, in all his glory, stood over the other Alpha and glowered at him before grabbing his coat collar and demanding all the usual answers which Tony really couldn’t focus on right now. He had to stop the room from spinning first. 

“So, Loki, since you’re hell-bent on wreaking havoc on us, at least tell us why you’re wreaking havoc on us?” Captain America fumed. 

Loki coughed. “O-oh, so you’re little teammate didn’t tell you? Shame on you, Man on Iron. I thought you would have at least told them half the truth.”

“Ironman, what is he talking about?” asked the Winter Soldier, wings rising in concern. 

“I’m speaking of me discovering your team’s weakest point and dragging you all down to see Hel in all her deathly glory.” Loki’s smirk was making Tony sick. 

“And how to you plan to do this, brother?” Thor growled, becoming more anxious by the moment, his wings high and open, but nearly as much as Captain America’s/

“I’m truly sorry, but I’m afraid your little Man on Iron knows all the details. And while I’d love to stay and converse, but there’s other matters I need to be occupied with at the moment. Lovely speaking with you all.”

Tony didn’t see the button in Loki’s hand until it was too late. By the time he said something, the cement ceilings were crashing down above them and Loki had darted through the hole, leaving the Avengers to either be crushed or be fast enough to slide out of the way. Tony watched and giant slabs of rock nearly flattened his teammates—his flockmates—over and over again, until they all had flapped up the hole Loki had escaped from, still in one piece. 

Loki was nowhere to be found. 

Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Bruce were still herding the masses away from danger, and when they saw their partners emerge from the smoke and dust and rock fragments, they breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. Natasha almost chuckled to herself; they couldn’t killed so easily. But when she watched Thor roar and destroy a hunk on concrete, the Winter Solider flex his matted feathers, and Captain America begin to pace erratically, she knew that there was still much work to be done. However, she was most concerned when Ironman simply lie down on the ground and cease moving. She darted over to their fallen teammate after he hadn’t moved for several moments, Bruce and Hawkeye close behind. 

“Tony? Tony?” Natasha called nervously. 

Bucky poked at Tony’s helmet, which elicited a sudden, shocked response. 

“W-w-what? Huh? Oh, hey guys,” Tony stuttered. 

“Tony, are you okay?” Bruce asked nervously. 

“Y-yeah, just tired and coming off an adrenaline high. I’ll be fine,” Tony responded. He moved to get up, but was weighed down by his armor. It took two more tries with the help of Steve and Thor to get Tony up and walking. Steve wanted to stay and do damage control, but Natasha and Bruce were worried about Tony’s injuries as well as Thor’s nose and Bucky’s low response time, and Steve decided to let Fury take one for the team this time. Tony was practically pulled the whole way home by Clint, who kept moaning about how the good battles always happen when he isn’t part of it, which was followed by an annoyed hit on the head from a black and red wingtip and a snarky “you were there for Budapest.”

Tony nearly laughed. 

Back at home, Tony was slowly stripped of his armor by his machines and was almost immediately swept into the infirmary where Dr. Costi gave him a thorough look-ever. 36 minutes later, she gave Tony good news. 

“Nothing too major,” the coffee-haired Beta said kindly. “Just some bone bruising and light dehydration with a few little cuts. You should be able to move comfortably in a week or so, but, for now, take it easy, Mr. Stark.” 

“Thanks, Doc,” Tony said honestly. He was glad he didn’t have a concussion like Bucky or a nearly-broken nose like Thor. Yet he still felt like it was too early for him to be out of working order again. He just got out of trouble for suppressant use and was being forced to give it up (even if he didn’t intend to follow through so quickly), and now he was being told to slow down. Not his favorite place to be. 

Tony walked out of the infirmary and was met with a warm hug from Thor and a soft kiss from Natasha, which almost knocked him off his feet. What happened to asking permission to being shocked out of words? Well, maybe that never existed, but still. Bruce walked up to him and set a delicate, yet firm hand on his shoulder. 

“How are you, Tony? Anything serious?” Leave it to Bruce to have the most adorable “are you okay?” face ever.

“Yes, Brucie-bear. I’m perfectly fine. I just need some water and ibuprofen and some rest and I’ll be back in shape,” Tony answered. 

Thor kept Tony wrapped in his great golden wings and earthy, woods-after-a-rain scent for the whole walk back to the rooms, Natasha’s hand loosely clasped around Tony’s and Bruce simply providing his presence. When they got back to the kitchen/sitting area where both Steve and Bucky were stuffing their faces with leftover Chinese food and Clint eating his pasta like a human being, everyone perked up at the sight of Tony alive, well, and without stitches. 

“Are you oka—?” Steve started, mouth full of fried rice, but Tony cut him off with an eye roll. 

“Yes, Mom, I’m fine. Just need a little doctor’s-orders rest,” Tony replied, the remark meant to be sassy but coming out endearing and almost grateful. 

Steve flashed Tony a genuine smile that made Tony’s knees melt and his wings to flutter ever so slightly despite the pieces of sprout in Steve’s teeth. Stop that, Tony thought to himself. Get your mind out of the mating nest. 

“Good to hear it. You hungry?”

“Famished.”

Almost before he could finish his response, a food-filled bowl was being held by Bucky, who was offering a fork of it to Tony. He moved forward to grab the bowl, but Bucky played a brief game of keep-away while still holding out the fork. Tony stared as if Bucky had two more heads growing out of him, and Bucky motioned with the fork. 

“Come on, Tony. It’s getting cold,” Bucky said as if this was the most normal thing ever. 

Tony scoffed. “I’m a grown-ass man, Buck. I can feed myself.” He made another grab for the bowl, but Bucky, again, managed to keep it away. 

“I know you can, but I want to make sure you eat at least some of it before you disappear down into your dark cave,” Bucky replied, innocence spreading across his face. Tony became very unnerved. A cold-blooded killer should not be able to look so pure and puppy-like. Tony shivered.

“Bucky, you’re being ridiculous,” Tony tried, wings twitching in annoyance. 

“Nope,” said Bucky, popping the ‘p.’ 

“Holy shit,” Tony sighed, exasperated. “Steve, can you help me out here?” Tony asked. 

Steve just gave him a look of smug indifference. “Sorry, Tony. You do need to eat something.”

“Oh, my God. Natasha?” Tony looked to the redhead, but she too was wearing a nonchalant smirk. 

“I can’t speak against the Head Alpha, Tony.”

“Thor?” Tony squeaked.

“I am sorry, Tony, but I also cannot go against the Head Alpha’s wishes.”

Tony slumped forward and groaned. “Are you fucking kidding me? When did I become the fucking child? I pay for the roof over your heads and you’re all acting like I’ve lost both my arms.”

Tony wanted to continue ranting, but Bucky hit him with a begging face that Tony wanted to absolutely annihilate. How could someone so gorgeous and serious and dangerous look so angelic? Tony could hold against it, but then Steve got up and gave his own version of the same face. 

“Please, Tony?” the Alphas said in sweet, high-pitched unison, and Bruce, who was sitting on the couch, was doing his damndest not to burst out laughing, his wings fluttering with the strain of holding back his giggles. Only for Tony would this ever happen. It was downright hilarious. 

Tony, completely and utterly glued to the floor, tried to resist the puppy-faces, he really did, but, against his better judgement, the Omega in him was pleased at the very idea of being fed and cared for by an Alpha, especially one as strong and virile as Bucky. This little, primal part of his being had been buried for years, but it was raging with full force, and Tony was losing to it’s strong influence. 

Eventually, Tony couldn’t resist. 

He bent his head forward and closed his lips around the fork, pulling the contents into his mouth and chewing pointedly at Bucky and Steve, who were absolutely beaming, wings vibrating behind them and emitting a light, happy version of their normal scents. Seeing his Alphas so happy made Tony’s little hindbrain swell with pride. The urge to purr and appease his Alphas even more began to well up in Tony’s throat, yet he quickly shoved that back down. He could barely be fed without feeling embarrassed, no way was he purring in front of all his Alphas at once. 

But Tony almost fell over backwards when Bucky said “Good boy” after Tony swallowed. That was something he hadn’t heard anyone say to him in a long, long time, and never with such love and affection. It made Tony want to rethink his whole life AND want to purr until he lost his voice. Which, obviously, he couldn’t really handle right now. Steve was giving him that amazing smile, and Tony felt trapped. What should he do? How should he act? How could he react like he wanted (aka, running away terrified) without hurting feelings? How could—?

“Alright, everybody!” Clint called out, striding into the room, wings held at full mast. “Fury says it’s debriefing time, so everyone get comfy. Something tells me it’s gonna be a long one.”

Scents became soured and Tony was broken out of his stupor by the movement of others and sounds of groaning. He thanked the Lords Jesus for Clint’s amazing timing and grabbing the bowl and fork from Bucky as he walked by, which earned him a pout. He moved to a place on the biggest couch in the room and was boxed in almost immediately by both Bucky and Steve, each with a wing resting comfortably against his. For a split second, Tony wondered what it would feel like to have those bare feathers against his bare feathers, how wonderful the sensations would be, but the thoughts were quickly and thankfully cut off by Fury’s back appearing on the TV screen. Tony sighed. Always so dramatic.

Fury turned and faced the group, a hard look painting his face. “So,” he began. “Would someone like to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not too bad, right? 
> 
> Please leave comments and stuff! I need to know how I'm doing as a writer, so please give me feedback, both positive and negative.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> XOXO LittleStarredSky


	17. Staring is Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers debrief, Tony gets a show, and Dr. Marlene adds a little more plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND I'M BACK! Thank you for waiting so long. Here's anew chapter that's actually been edited a little bit and had some time spent on it, PLUS it's over 2,000 words, so HURRAY! 
> 
> I've finally decided on an update schedule, which is, roughly, every other Saturday/Sunday night, so YEA FOR WEEKEND UPDATES! And, if I get lucky, there may be a few early updates, but, on the regs, it's every other Saturday/Sunday night. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter and give me feedback!

Of course, Fury started asking questions as soon as he popped up on the screen, and most of them Steve answered dutifully with his Captain America Voice of Seriousness and Respect. Natasha sat idly on one of the couch arms, Thor rested in an armchair, Clint was perched on a stood from the kitchen, and Bruce was next to Natasha on the couch, absentmindedly twirling his feathers. Tony rolled his eyes through the entire thing, all the way up until Fury started asking questions about him. 

“Loki had mentioned that he had spoken to Tony before about his plans, and Tony mentioned that Loki had interacted with him but gave no indication that Loki had revealed plans in any way,” Steve said. 

“Is this true, Stark?” questioned Fury. 

“Yes, sir,” Tony said with minimal seriousness.

The bureaucratic tone of the conversation may have seemed professional, but there was trust behind it, quiet assurance that Tony hadn’t lied or kept information from them. Tony wished that it was completely true. However, half-lying was one of his greatest talents, even with his own team-flock-thingy-micjiggy. 

Yet, Tony’s conscience still suffered from being dishonest with the people he cared about. He considered telling someone the truth. Steve would be the most logical choice, being Flock Alpha or team leader or whatever the hell he was. But Steve would be disappointed if he found out about Tony’s half-truths. Bad for team morale, he would say. He’d probably punish Tony. He’d probably hold him down and open those gorgeous white wings and—. 

“Ack! Stark, stop that!” Tony thought to himself. Obviously, now was not the time to get a weird erection for something that he didn’t even allow himself to like. Focus, Tony. Focus on the big man in black. 

“Well, it seems obvious to me that Loki, the son of a bitch, isn’t exactly playing around, contrary to what he’s said to Tony,” Fury stated, midnight-charcoal-black wings steady at his sides. Tony tummy flopped a little.

“What gave it away?” Clint sassed. “The subway coming down or Thor’s broken nose?”

Fury gave the Beta a hard, one-eyed stare, and the previously calm wings fluttered in annoyance. “I guess you could say both, Barton. The Loki we know doesn’t screw around without a goal in mind, and we need to know that nefarious goal it is. From here on out, we are on Low-Level crisis mode, and we need to figure out Loki’s plans. Captain, I need you to…”

Fury’s words were reduced to blah, blah, blah in Tony’s mind and he zoned out almost completely. He stretched his wings behind him and nudged one on Bucky’s, which earned him a light sweep across his upper flight feathers that made Tony shiver. All Bucky did was grin.

After what felt like hours, Fury finally logged off and people got up and moved around, probably still hungry. But Tony was comfortable between Bucky and Steve, neither of whom were moving to get up, so his decided to reach for his bowl of Chinese food and eat on the couch next to two very nice heating pads. Tony ate his food slowly, not wanting to get up from his very comfortable cushion indent, and when he was finished, he let the bowl sit on his tummy, soaking up the leftover warmth. For the second time in one day, surrounding by lovely scents and warmth and virile Alphas, Tony felt his throat tingle with the urge to purr, which he again shoved way, way down. 

Tony could feeling his eyelids beginning to droop when he felt one of the bodies next to him wiggle around and lift away, leaving Tony’s left side bare and cold. Tony blinked himself out of wooziness and turned his head to glare at whoever dared to take away his warmth. The glare dancing on his lips died once he actually bother watching who was moving: Steve. 

Steve elongated his torso and stretched his wings, up and up and up. Tony watched as gold wingtips almost brushed the ceiling. He didn’t mean to trace his eyes along the lines of Steve’s body. He didn’t mean to let himself sigh quietly at the expanse of hot, toned Alpha. And he seriously didn’t mean to nearly whine when he watched those wings climb higher and get larger and holy shit, did it get hot in here or is it just me?

Steve shifted, and Tony managed to look away from the white feathers, but instead glanced into Steve’s eyes. And goddamn, Steve had pretty eyes. As always, the blue was deep, intense, and today they were slightly grey, like the color of ominous storm clouds, and Tony liked them. He like them enough to make steady eye contact. He was ready to just accept his fate of drowning in the blueness, but the blonde Alpha smirked and quirked an eyebrow, as if to say, “See something you like?”

Yeah, Tony saw something he liked.

The expression snapped him out of him little trance, but the experienced-in-dealing-with-sexy-and-not-so-sexy-situations Omega played it smart. Tony gathered himself enough composure to look away slowly, which didn’t give away his embarrassment and attraction nearly as fast is it would have if he looked away swiftly. He kept his face neutral, although he was sure he was at least a little pink, and stood, cracking his back a little on the way up. He considered making a remark about how long of a debrief that was, or how Fury was charming as always, but he settled on walking away as nonchalantly as he could. 

And if Steve’s rumble made him walk just a teeny bit faster, sue him. 

Steve watched the spunky genius skitter away to the kitchen, an amused and almost disappointed smile on his face. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t showing off at least a little bit for the Omega, but the reaction he received was way better than he expected. It started innocently enough with Steve just wanting to get a glass of water, but he felt Tony’s eyes on him when he stood up and couldn’t resist preening just a little bit. 

As of Tony groping for the body heat back wasn’t cute enough, he had open his eyes and make tiny, strangled little noises of what Steve assumed was shock and appreciation. His Alpha was definitely pleased. And when Tony’s earthy-brown eyes connected with his, Steve felt his heart skip and his normally-stable wings begin to flutter. 

After the contact was proved to be solid, Steve gave Tony his best Cheshire Cat grin that he learned a couple weeks ago during movie night. Steve’s Alpha wanted Tony to get redder and to fluster. He wanted to prove to himself, and maybe even to Tony, that the Omega found him attractive and desirable. But Tony only turned his head calmly and moved to leave, aka: not what Steve’s Alpha wanted. It was the exact opposite of what Steve’s Alpha wanted. 

Admittedly, the growl was a little much, but Steve was able to pull himself back together before his Alpha left his hindbrain and took control of his body. He turned back to Bucky, wings still held as high as they could go, and Bucky reflected the Cheshire grin right back. 

Tony wasn’t totally sure about how to feel about what had transpired. Sure, he had always found all of his Alphas attractive, and sure, he had always cared about them and wanted them and fantasized about them on occasion… (Okay, most nights. Minor details.) But he rarely acted on those impulses due to the fact that he was trying to hide his true gender, and yet he here was, no longer making huge efforts to conceal his Omega nature and openly making goo-goo eyes at the Flock Alpha. The Flock Alpha! 

What gave him the right to think that Steve, who had an entire group of people to care about, would give him the time of day, let alone the time of night? Steve, who had to check with everyone and care for everyone and love everyone… and who also had stared back at him, grinned at him, growled so low in his chest that Tony felt in the floor when he scurried out of there. 

Tony shook those thoughts out of his head for now. He could already feel a headache coming on, and he needed some Aspirin for his aching muscles. 

Then a phone rang through the Tower. 

“Sir, Dr. Marlene is asking for you,” JARVIS reported. 

The whole room went still. Wings stiffened, scents soured, and Tony grimaced. He knew those actions were partially directed at him. The entire flock knew who she was now, and what kinds of news that came along with her phone calls. Tony refused to look around at the harsh faces and glances being thrown over shoulders at the mention of her name. Taking a deep breath, Tony answered JARVIS.

“Reroute her to the house phone, J.” So that the others don’t hear us.

“Already done, sir,” replied the AI.

Tony reached for the phone and spoke into the receiver. “Hello, Doctor. How’s my favorite life-saver?”

Natasha scoffed. Tony rolled his eyes at her. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark,” Dr. Marlene laughed. “I’m fine, thank you. How have you been?”

“Oh, you know, classified stuff I can’t tell you about in front of my Leader or he’ll have my balls. And please, Angela, call me Tony before I stop paying you.”

“Oh, please. If you stopped paying me, you’d have to get a new doctor, Tony. And you’ll have to tell me about the incident when Captain isn’t stalking about. However, I am calling about the, uh, shipment that you asked for.”

Tony’s relaxed smile dropped. “Ah, yes. That. Uh, one second.” Tony turned and exited the room quickly, then, as soon as he was outside the doors, he pinched himself for being so obvious and suspicious. He padded quickly too his room and sat on his bed, ready to be talking for the next while. “So, how’s it going?”

“It’s going fairly well, no major hiccups yet, but, Tony, I have to warn you. The government is starting to crack down on the suppressant trades. Hard. Even I can’t evade the law. I’ve even looked over their research on the long-term effects of suppressant use, and the results aren’t good, Tony. In fact, they’re pretty awful.” Dr. Marlene’s voice sounded urgent, scared, and tony felt his stomach being to feel funny. This was not the kind of phone call he was expecting.

“Sorry, Angela, but I don’t really think I can handle that kind of stuff right now. I just took some battle damage and Loki’s running rampant again. I don’t know how I’m gonna do this without having something to keep me, you know, me. And I’m already in some shit with the team for lying to them, and while they seem to have gotten mostly over it, they’re starting to treat me like an Omega. I was spoon-fed today, Angela! Do you know how weird that felt?”

“Sometimes I wonder if you forget I’m also Omega. I’ve been through that stuff, Tony. It’s actually not as weird as you think it is. But seriously, you need to start coming to terms with the fact that you may lose your crutch. I’d start talking to your flock about this, especially your Alphas. They’d understand.”

“Oh, sure they would. But what about me? I’m not ready for that!”

Dr. Marlene sighed very heavily into the receiver, a sigh a person gives when she knows she tried hard but didn’t succeed and needs to let things go. “Alright, Tony. I was just trying to help.”

“I know,” Tony replied quietly. “And I’m sorry for yelling. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”

“Tony, don’t apologize. Just get me out of prison when they lock me up for helping you.”

Tony grinned. “Noted.”

“Bye, Tony.” Click. 

Tony set the phone down and laid across his bed, wings splayed out on either side, and felt the urge to cry, purr (oddly enough), and scream all at once. Two out of those three things would be heard, one would leave evidence behind, and all three were equally embarrassing. So, Tony went with the one that would no evidence behind and would be quiet enough that no one would hear. Tony took a breath and purred. 

It wasn’t a soft, sweet purr, like the kind you hear from kittens. It was a very quiet, rough purr, like the purr of a cougar, a sign of how long it had been since Tony purred. But the noise was meant to be self-comforting, even in it’s roughness, and Tony felt himself relax. Something in his chest unwound and Tony felt a little lighter than he had felt in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, see, see? Not such a bed chapter, right?
> 
> See you later, readers!
> 
> XOXO LittleStarredSky
> 
> Leave feedback!


	18. A Kiss Hard to Miss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Natasha reach an "understanding" and a few points are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm back. And I can't tell you guys how sorry I am for not updating, so, instead of excusing myself to my death, I'm going to update this chapter. It's 3,150 words, so enjoy.
> 
> Thanks for staying with me. 
> 
> XOXO

Everyone in the kitchen watched Tony stiffen and scurry away into his room, which immediately sent the Alpha radars blaring in suspicion. Steve was drilling holes into the spot where Tony disappeared, and Bucky looked on the verge of pouting. But it was Natasha who almost moved to follow Tony. She needed to make sure her Omega was okay, she needed to make sure he wasn’t putting himself in danger. She couldn’t risk having the Dr. Marlene sending her little Omega in the jaws of death. 

Natasha shook her head. She was overreacting. It was very unlikely it was as bad as she thought it was. But still. 

Thor’s wings drooped and he sighed heavily, his scent becoming runny, and Bruce looked at him in concern. At the Beta’s hum of inquiry, Thor sighed again.

“I am at a loss as to what to do,” the god mumbled. “He hides so much from us.”

Bruce shrugged. “That won’t change overnight, Thor. Tony never shared much with us in the first place.”

“But he needs to be open with us,” Steve piped up. “Especially now. Ever since we started forming this flock and bonding with each other, he’ pulling back. To get along as a team, being open is great, but as a flock, as a family, it’s not a choice. He has to learn to talk to us when he’s upset.”

“Steve, you know that Tony needs more than just vibes directed at him to get him to open up, right?” Natasha asked, unimpressed. 

“No, he absolutely needs more than that,” said Bruce before Natasha ripped Steve’s head off. “It’s just a process of getting him comfortable enough to do so.”

“Thank you, Bruce,” Natasha said coolly, keeping her eyes glued on the Flock Alpha. “Now, I’m gonna go find Tony.”

“And do what?” asked Steve incredulously. 

“Talk to him.”

Natasha padded away toward the engineer’s room, completely aware of the glare Steve was giving her. She ruffled her feathers. Steve needed to stop being an ass. 

 

* * *

Tony was lying still, his feathers splayed out beneath him and his arms at his sides. His purring was lighter now, not as rough, the muscles being exercised after years of disuse. It was still deeper, but smoother. The vibrations in his chest soothed him in a wonderfully blissful way, and he allowed himself to become pliant, even relaxed. He almost wouldn’t mind it if someone cuddled him right now. 

The Omega was so wrapped up in pampering himself that he didn’t hear to click of his door opening, but he did notice the scent of deliciously pungent orchid. He opened his eyes and found the source of the smell, one dangerous assassin leaning in his doorway, staring at him curiously. He sat up quickly and immediately ceased his purring, thoroughly embarrassed, but Natasha didn’t acknowledge it. She daintily walked over to him, keeping her wings low and calm, watching Tony’s body language carefully. The last thing she needed was to have Tony too afraid or startled to trust his feelings with her.

Even if hearing him purr was the cutest and sexiest thing she had ever heard. She couldn’t wait until Tony was comfortable enough to do it in front of everybody, even if that would be a while from now. She could wait. 

Tony sat up a little straighter as Natasha closed in on him. Her scent and wings told him that she wasn’t here to kill him or rip him a new asshole, so he relaxed a little bit. She gingerly sat down next to him and gave him a tiny, open smile, one meant to sooth. Tony reciprocated. 

“Hello, Tony,” Natasha said quietly, wings brushing against Tony’s. 

Tony was still relaxed and bordering on aroused, but he tried to pull himself together as quickly and elegantly as possible. 

“Hello, Spiderbite. What’s shaking?”

Natasha chuckled a little louder than she wanted, but the lazy smile that Tony gifted her was pretty funny. She brushed a few strands of hair out of her face and looked at Tony a little more intensely. She smiled a tad more when he gazed into her eyes and shivered. She watched as his pupils enlarged slightly. She brushed his wingtip and he shivered again. 

“Nothing except you, Metalhead,” she chuckled. 

The Omega developed a sprinkle of rose dust across his face. “So, why are you here?” Tony quipped. 

Natasha shrugged. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You ran out of there pretty fast. I got worried.”

Tony made a confused face. “Why? Last I checked, I’m not in danger.”

“I know, but I had to make sure.”

Tony rolled his eyes so hard that Natasha felt it. “You Alphas are all the same. Nobody did this back when I was one of you. It’s so stupid.”

Natasha bristled a little bit. Tony had always been one of them. And instincts and caring about flock members weren’t stupid. 

“Is it really, Tony? I’m pretty sure it’s just us caring about you. You’ve always been part of this group, of course we act when worry about you.”

“But it’s suffocating. You guys don’t know what it’s like to constantly have eyes on you. I do.” Now the easy atmosphere and blush were totally gone, replaced with heavy air and sloped wings. Natasha was starting to feel a little lump grow in her throat. 

“Tony, it’s because we care.” Natasha repeated, trying to be neutral and non-patronizing, but to no avail. Her voice dropped a little bit, and sadness broke through the crack in her voice. 

She desperately wanted Tony to see how much everyone cared about him, how important he was, and yet here they were, kinda-almost arguing about why the Alphas wanted to watched over Tony. Natasha was done with all the insecurity. She was a professional that was trained to find insecurities and loopholes and either close them or use them to her advantage. These ones needed to be closed, for everyone’s sake. 

“Tony, we’re not going to continue creating this flock without you, and I really wish that you were okay with being open with us.”

Tony stared at her, eyes open and a tad watery. He was about to say something, but Natasha cut him off. 

“Tony, I know you can take of yourself, but as Alphas we have a biological need to take care of you ourselves. Do you know why?”

Tony sighed. “Because you need to feel secure about yourselves?”

Now it was Natasha’s turn to roll her eyes. “That’s a very small part of it, and you know that, idiot. Aren’t you supposed to be a genius?”

“I am a genius, thank you very much.”

“Well, maybe with machines, but when it comes to relationships, you’re pretty stupid.”

“Obviously not, Tash. I’m notorious for being a serial heartbreaker.” The shitty, prideful smirk he was wearing made Natasha want to hit him. When a growl rumbled through the room, it wasn’t exactly accidental. Tony froze when he heard it, the unexpected sound wedging its way into the Omega’s hindbrain, telling him to be quiet and not upset his Alpha. 

Tony listened to it for a moment, but as it sunk in, he got a little pissed off. He squinted his eyes at the redheaded Alpha and huffed. “Oh my fucking God, Romanoff. If you guys can’t handle my previous exploits, then I want no part of this little flocky-thing.” His wings stiffened in annoyance. 

Natasha just rumbled again. “Okay, first off, that’s a little extreme. And second, what do you expect? We want you and only you, and we want you to want only us. We want to be the best you’ve ever had, to make everyone else incomparable. It’s hard to hear about… other people.” 

Tony was silent for a moment, eyes large and open, wings folded back and still. “That’s a lot of want in a single sentence.” A scary amount. 

Natasha sighed. “Yeah, but that’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point, Natasha? Please elaborate, because I’m confused,” Tony sassed, his scent souring. 

“The point is that we have to cater to this desire to take care of you because that’s how we know you’re being taken care of. And that’s not exactly something you can change.” Natasha’s voice was harder than she intended, but it was the truth. 

Tony considered what Natasha said for a moment, and nodded. “Okay, fair enough, but it still doesn’t make me feel any better. And it doesn’t change the fact that I can take care of myself.”

Natasha pinched the bridge her nose. She expected Tony to be stubborn, but this was testing her patience a little bit. “Tony, there isn’t really anything to discuss. We will take care of you and pine over you and all those things that you think are stupid, and we probably won’t be able to help it. You can rebuke it all you want, but Bucky will still try to feed you and Steve will still be a showoff and Thor will try to make you happy. We want you to stay, and we will do whatever we can to keep you here.”

Tony tried to hide his blush as best he could, even if it was futile with Natasha all-seeing eyes. “It’s still weird,” he whispered. 

“It’s life,” Natasha said, as if that explained the whole thing. She scooted a little closer to him and wrapped a wing around the both of them. The extra warmth was nice, but there was tension remaining. Timidly, Tony looked up at the female Alpha. He had a question burning on his tongue, but he as unwilling to say it. 

“Just say it, Tony.”

“W-what?”

“Just say it, Tony. I can tell you have something on your mind, one of your veins is popping out.”

“What? How long has that been happening?”

Natasha laughed. “Besides the point, Tony. What do you want to say?”

“Uh, well…” His hesitation made him stammer. 

“Tony,” the redhead Alpha said condescendingly.

“Okay, okay. It’s, uh… What will you do?”

Now it was Natasha’s turn to be a little confused. “Huh?”

“I mean, what will you do to take care of me.” Tony’s cheeks were flaming. Why the hell did he care? Didn’t he want to be able to take care of himself?

Natasha smiled so wide she though her face would break. She fought to bring the grin down, but Tony was being so cute with his red face and fluttering wings and nervous scent that Natasha was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. She leaned in, putting her mouth right next to Tony’s ear, and whispered. 

“I will never let you out of my sight.”

Tony felt a small coil of arousal wind itself in his tummy, and he turned his face away to hide his transitioning into a tomato. Having Natasha so close and feeling her breath down his neck was giving him all kinds of wonderful goosebumps. A hand ran down the top of his wing and Tony held down a moan. The orchid in the room was richening, becoming palpable and sticking to Tony. He could taste it in the back of his throat. It was the most wonderful flavor. He felt himself wanting to drink it up right from the source, but that would mean turning to face Natasha, and he was only getting redder. 

A hand wove itself around his head and grabbed his chin, turning the shaking engineer toward the assassin, and Tony melted into the green eyes that punctured his. A half smirk and lidded eyes adorned the Alpha’s face. Slowly, Tony put his hand atop hers, and her grin softened into something a little more loving.

Nervous and unsure of how to act, Tony only watched as Natasha’s head drifted closer and closer to his; he didn’t know if he wanted this to happen. His hindbrain was screaming “Yes, yes, yes! Let this Alpha love you and take care of you and sex you for the rest of your life!” But the part of his brain not directly connected to his dick was sternly telling him “No, no, no. Don’t do this. You don’t deserve her. She doesn’t know what she’s getting into.” 

But the second Natasha’s lips rested on his, all thoughts were erased. The feeling was perfect. It silenced all his fears and ignited a want in his body, a want to be good, loyal. He wanted to please, to give, to care. He wasn’t ashamed to be Omega. It was nice. 

Natasha turned her hand and slid her fingers between Tony’s, giving them a gentle squeeze. Tony squeezed back. He loved this warm feeling that was spreading through his body. He wanted more. He pushed against her a little, and he felt her grin against him. Surprisingly, Tony felt his lips become cold and opened his eyes. Natasha was no longer kissing him, but staring at him with admiration in her eyes. It made him want to cry and hug her as hard as he could afford to with his bruised muscles. So he did. 

Natasha was shocked to feel Tony’s weathered arms warp around her and hold her, but as soon as the shock wore off, she basked in it. Her Omega was hugging her, being affectionate with her, trusting her enough to be vulnerable, and she loved it. Her Alpha soul was so unbelievably happy, so pleased that she had finally gained at least a little faith from the Omega she cared about so much. She didn’t really want to cry in front of Tony, who seemed on the edge of tears all by himself, but tears were threatening to fall anyway. She wanted to do something. Anything. Anything that would make Tony stay. She wrapped her arms around him and held him closer. 

“I love you.”

If Tony let a single tear slip when he heard those words, that was his business. 

* * *

A couple hours later, Tony was downstairs in his workshop, adding a few more touches to Mark 50 in preparation for the next attack. But he definitely wasn’t completely focused on the job at hand. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the feeling of Natasha’s lips out of his mind. And when it wasn’t her, it was every other Alpha he lived with. He couldn’t help but wonder if Bucky or Steve would be rougher, if Thor’s mead and woodsy scent would get him drunk with how strong it would be, or what it would be like to be held down and ravished by all of the at once. He had been fighting down an erection for the past hour, and his wings were shaking with the need to be touched. Tony didn’t even think about how he was sweating and slicking off his suppressants and scent blockers. 

When the door to the lab opened with a whoosh and an earthy scent filled the room, Tony grinned. Thank God that his gray-winged Beta was here. He had been getting a little lonely down in the dark, and he was a bit too lost in his own thoughts. He was kind of driving himself the bad kind of crazy. He turned to greet Bruce, and was met with a knowing, smug smile. Immediately, Tony was suspicious. 

“What do you know and who told you?” Tony asked, wings folding behind him. 

“Hello to you too, Tony,” Bruce chuckled, still waring that damned smirk. 

“Oh, do excuse me, good sir. Hello, hey, how ya doin’? I’m fine, thank you. Now spill it.”

Bruce rolled his eyes, wings swaying easily. Clearly, he wasn’t in a hurry to ‘spill’ anything, but Tony was feeling a bit impatient. He was teetering between ripping is hair out and having a full-out masturbation session in the middle of his lab, which was probably a safety hazard. Games were off the table; he was too riled up. 

“For God’s sake, Bruce, just say it!”

“Well, I might have heard a thing…” Bruce trailed off, still fucking grinning. 

“And said thing is?” Tony pushed. 

Bruce looked at him and starting to circle very slowly. “A thing about you finally letting go a little bit.”

Tony squinted at him. “Letting go? What the hell do you mean?”

“It may or may not have involved out favorite redhead,” Bruce obviously hinted. 

Tony froze and blushed heavily. She told people? What the fuck? That wasn’t something he was ready to be open with people about! What if his Alphas got jealous and then he’d have to explain and that would probably make them mad and and and…

“I knew it.”

Tony blinked and furrowed his brows at the Beta, whose scent was as light and happy as springtime. “What are you talking about?”

“I knew she wasn’t lying.”

Bruce obviously knew more that he was sharing. Now tony was really nervous. “Lying about what?” Tony asked with worry in his voice. 

“When Natasha walked a little too slow by me and Clint, we could scent that you guys got a little touchy. Clint thought she was pulling our legs. But I knew it. I knew that you couldn’t hold onto your little Alpha act forever. You have no idea how elated I am right now.”

Tony was completely shocked. Natasha had purposely walked by as slow as she could so she could rub it in everyone’s faces that she and Tony had an, uh, understanding. She had no issue with flaunting her momentary superiority over everyone. For a moment, Tony worried about what would happen when the other Alphas in the Tower smelled their exploits. He didn’t want Natasha to get in trouble. 

But, more importantly, he didn’t want to get in trouble. 

“Bruce,” Tony began. “I promise that I didn’t choose her. She was just kind of there and talking to me and making me feel better and that made me feel weird and she just kissed me and I let my hindbrain get away from me. That’s it. I swear on Ironman.”

“Swearing on yourself? That’s a bit conceited, don’t you think?”

“Not the point, Brucie.”

“I know. Truthfully, I don’t think you just ‘let your hindbrain get away from you,’ Tony. I think you actually felt something.” 

Bruce stared hard into Tony’s eyes, a frown creasing his face and Tony felt himself being laid bare beneath the gaze of his science bro. It was deep, penetrating, and Tony felt as though his thoughts, feelings, and emotions were being unearthed and exposed to Bruce’s discriminative eyes. 

“You did, didn’t you?” Bruce whispered. 

“What?” Tony whispered back. 

“You felt something.”

Something in Tony told him not to lie and to be honest with his flock-mate. And something else made him listen. 

“Yeah. I did.”

Bruce grinned again. “I knew it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes? No? Maybe so? Let me know how you liked it! 
> 
> P.S. More action is coming. Pinkie promise. I'll try extremely hard update this week sometime so I can make up for the lack of previous updates.


	19. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets mad, Natasha isn't a complete dick, and what is up with Alphas and watching Tony eat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have an update! Hope I made you Monday a little better! This was an odd chapter for me. I planned it and stuff, but it didn't go exactly where I wanted it to, so I had to make do and move some stuff around. How it is now is how I want it. Yea for compromises! 
> 
> Enjoy!

The more Bruce talked, the more anxious Tony became. Had Natasha really flaunted in front of them? Why? And what about if she swooped past the other Alphas? Tony really didn’t want anybody to argue, let alone fight, and her would hate for Natasha to be the sole receiver off all that aggression. Not that she couldn’t hold her own, but it wasn’t fair to her. Tony had been involved, too. Obviously. 

“Bruce, are you sure that she was intentionally flaunting?” Tony asked, setting down the wrench he had been gripping with white knuckles.

Bruce gave him a look that said, “You aren’t seriously questioning me, are you?” However, his actual answer wasn’t as blunt. “I guess I’m not one hundred percent sure, Tony, but if Natasha wants to hide something, it’s hidden and hidden well. If she didn’t want us to smell you on her, she probably wouldn’t have walked right past us.”

Tony’s nervousness was rapidly evolving into anger. “I can’t fucking believe it,” he whispered. Even though he hadn’t explicitly said that what happened between them was supposed be a secret, he thought that he and Natasha had had a moment. You know, one that wasn’t supposed to be broadcasted to the world. He felt kind of betrayed. 

Tony’s frustrations were missed by the scientist, but Bruce noticed the Omega’s shaking wings and souring scent. He moved a little closer, trying to judge if Tony would let him be friendly. “Tony, we don’t know for sure, right? Natasha works in mysterious ways, and the only way to know for sure is to ask her.” Bruce’s words were soothing, but they did little to stop Tony’s flurry of questions and concerns. 

“And what if she did do it in purpose, Bruce?” Tony wings were fluttering, his voice a little higher than usual. “How would we explain it to all the other Alphas? They would all get jealous or something really fucking stupid like that, then they’d get mad and I don’t know if I handle getting that from them all at one.”

“Yeah. That probably wasn’t her best moment,” Bruce said sympathetically. 

“No,” Tony huffed. “No, it was not.”

All hints of horniness were completely gone. 

After about two hours of stewing and planning more improvements, Tony made a trip downstairs, careful to avoid anybody, especially Natasha. Ms. Marten’s All Natural, Earth Friendly Scent and Wing Oil Remover for All Surfaces was sprayed all over his workshop and his room. He showered, clicked on the Paint-R 3245, and put on a new layer of dye. He wanted all physical evidence of his Omega-ness gone in preparation for what he was going to do. 

For a moment, he gazed in the mirror at the reflection looking back at him. He liked this version of him: the one without insecurities or weak points for Alpha voices or towering, beautiful wings or soft lips, or gentle, weathered, huge hands. The one that wasn’t Omega. Forlornly, a cabinet was opened, and he stared at his faulty scent blockers and suppressants. His order wouldn’t be there until the day after tomorrow, but he needed them now. He needed to be Alpha right now. He needed to remove his weaknesses. He wouldn’t be able to face the Flock without them. Sighing heavily, Tony applied the blockers and took his little red pill, then put on the shirt that smelled the most like oiled machinery and damp earth. 

JARVIS alerted him that Steve and Bucky had made spaghetti for dinner, which was being served in 5 minutes. 

Tony plastered on his game face and flared his wings just enough to appear threatening. “Perfect timing.”

* * *

Admittedly, Natasha was a bit too proud of herself after she left Tony with a final kiss to the forehead. But how could she not? She had proven to herself, and mentally to Steve, that her way with interacting with Tony was more effective. She was the first person Tony had touched romantically as an out Omega; he had been open with her and let her feel him. She’s be lying if she said she didn’t want to walk over to Steve and rub her and Tony’s mixed scent in his face, displaying her dominance and acceptance from their Omega. 

Of course, this was all only coming from and appealing to her Alpha hindbrain, but there was a little more to it than that. It was a step in the right direction; it was a gesture that moved toward Tony’s well-being. She had gotten him to talk and respond to her. That was so major. 

Even so, she had been a bit too confident when she strolled by her Betas, her dark wings open and poised, the deep, orchid scent containing notes of orange blossom scones with a metallic tinge. She hadn’t needed to see the shock on Clint’s face or the disbelief on Bruce’s. She knew they were there. She also knew that there was a bit too much of Tony’s scent on her for them to assume that they had only been near each other. They had done more. Natasha had gotten Tony comfortable to do more. 

She had walked around the rest of the day feeling on top of the world, not caring who would see or smell her. 

In hindsight, this wasn’t wise, and Natasha began to suspect as much when Tony didn’t surface from his workshop until dinner. When he did come up, his steps were a little heavier than normal, his wings were folded tight behind him, and he didn’t smell like the orange-blossom-scones his scent was started to evolve into. He smelled like oil, metal, dirty moistness, almost exactly what his workshop smelled like. It prickled in Natasha’s nose, yet it reminded her a little of Bucky’s scent, even if Bucky’s was warmer, softer, and more welcoming with its undertone of burning cedar. Natasha was a little shocked. 

All eyes were on Tony for a second longer than he would have liked, but he figured he had made a decent enough entrance to give a clear statement: “Don’t even think about treating me like an Omega right now. I’m not gonna act like one right this moment, so get over it.” At least, that’s what he hoped he was communicating. He took a chair next to Bucky at the end of the table, which was also conveniently as far away from Natasha as was possible. Bucky definitely gave him a funky look, but Tony ignored it, instead focusing on the pasta that Steve set in front of him, which smelled out of this world. 

He helped himself to a generous amount, and tried to miss Steve’s appreciative stare and smile. He even wing-flared a little. Natasha was right; Steve was a showoff beneath all of the good ol’ American boy persona. Natasha and Clint had started talking about the possibility of training with simulators, and Bruce joined in with possible pros and cons after giving Tony an apologetic look. It was promptly ignored. As soon as Steve sat across from Tony and next to Thor, Thor began to enthusiastically tell a story of epic proportions involving warriors and Bularks and the like, while Steve listened, enraptured, commenting every now and then. Bucky remained silent beside Tony, his long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, also listening to Thor’s tale. 

Tony listened also, but he wasn’t as intrigued. Thor’s cheer wasn’t really helping right now. In fact, it was annoying him a little. Why, he couldn’t tell, but he had to remind himself that he was here to be normal and not attract attention. Yelling at Thor to stop yelling was counter-productive to that goal. He took deep, silent breaths and tried to calm his scent and stop his wings from rattling their fresh coat of dye off. To give himself something to do, he reached for more pasta. Again, Steve smiled at him. Tony tried not to scowl back.

Tony placed more tender spoonfuls into his mouth because what the hell, this was good pasta, and was faintly aware of eyes on the side of his face. He glanced to the side to find Bucky’s eyes glued to his lips, which were currently wrapped around a fork. Tony, confused as all hell, tried a bit of an experiment named “is James staring at me or am I going insane?” Taking another forkful of spaghetti, Tony made his mouth a bit more of an “o,” and made sure to lick his lips to get “extra spaghetti sauce” off of them. When he looked over, Bucky was not only still staring, but his pupils were a little larger than last time. Then, Tony glanced up and saw Steve looking at him too. His chest became a beating thunderstorm. 

Tony was bewildered. What the fuck was it with these Alphas and food?

Tony ceased the experiment immediately when he realized that he was provoking more than one Alpha. Messing with one was dangerous, but messing with two, one of which was the fucking Flock Alpha was a bit too dangerous, even for him. Tony continued to eat his food like a normal fucking human. 

Taking a deep breath to calm down his racing heart, Tony noticed the richness of the air around him. It smelled like a cedar-burning cabin in the woods that just so happened to have a citrus orchard in the backyard and whose owner had a really expensive, perfectly running Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the garage. Literally, what in the ever-loving fuck. Couldn’t the super-soldier shitheads keep it in their pants at all? Tony couldn’t handle this shit right now. 

Tony looked up from his almost empty pasta bowl to see Bucky staring at the fork he was holding, then glanced at Tony, then back again. “What?” Tony thought. “What so interesting about the fork and m—?” Oh, my god, no bloody way. Bucky probably wanted to feed him. Again. Tony shoved that thought away quickly; he hoped dinner ended soon. He shot a razored look at Natasha, who was too busy sending razored looks at Clint to notice. 

“This better be over soon,” Tony muttered to no one in particular. 

* * * 

After dinner, Tony was angrily scrubbing dishes, which gave him an excuse to stay in the kitchen so he could rip Natasha a new asshole. Assassin or not, Tony needed to tell Natasha how pissed he was; she was practically laying foundation for mutiny! Tony would not stand by and watch her get herself and the Flock in trouble. He needed to do this. 

Natasha was not stupid. She had seen all of the looks that Tony had sent her way over the dinner table, and she had a feeling that she knew why. She was also over 90 percent sure that she knew the reason why he came to dinner all closed off and covered in the scent of machines. And she was completely positive that these things were connected. Turns out, she was right. 

She sat on the counter next to Tony, hoping, praying that what he was mad about had nothing to do with their encounter. She would hate herself if Tony never wanted to touch her again because of something she unwittingly did. The thought caused her wings to droop. Dear God, don’t let that be the case. 

Tony looked over at her spitefully, raking a sponge across a dish. “I’m mad. Specifically at you,” he bite out. 

“Okay,” Natasha nodded, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. “About what?”

“About how you didn’t finish all of your spaghetti,” Tony stated. He didn’t really plan for that to come out, but hey, sarcasm was sometimes his only defense. 

Natasha blinked at him owlishly. “What?”

Tony rolled his eyes at her. “Sorry, it just happened to swoop out, kind of like how you did in front of Clint and Bruce.”

“Tony, what are you talking about?” Natasha asked, ignoring the growing tightness in her throat. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Romanoff. I talking about the little strut you did after you and I…” Pause. “Exchanged pleasantries, which just so happened to walk you right past Bruce and Clint. Personally, I thought we had had a special moment, but, you know, if you want to announce to the whole world that we did a thing, go ahead. Don’t ask me or anything.” His tone was exasperated, and Tony felt tired. He was getting too old for this garbage. He didn’t even bother stopping his scent from souring or his wings from seizing up. 

Natasha, who was watching him with wide, pained eyes, breathed a hurt sigh. When he put that way, it did make her seem like a huge jerk, like a high schooler who couldn’t resist telling all his friends about his exploits. She basically kissed-and-told. And Tony didn’t have the confidence right now to have his personal life on blast. Not the best way to earn trust, Natasha. Real good job. Better apologize so you can save yourself. 

“Tony, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think of your emotions at all when I ‘strutted’ around, and I let my instincts get away from me. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

Tony almost laughed. Her apology was so heart-felt and her voice bordering on cracking. It was almost cliche. He sighed. “Thanks, Nat, but it doesn’t really take away the fact that the mischievous Betas now know that we did a thing.”

“Ugh, my god,” Natasha shook her head at herself. “That was—.”

“Dumb, selfish, stupid, inconsiderate. I’ve got a few.”

“Consider all accurate.” There was a weird pause filled with Tony’s scrubbing.

“Ugh. Now I have to forgive you.”

“Huh?” asked the Alpha. 

“I have to forgive you. I can’t just diss an apology as sincere and heart-felt as that. And you admitted to being stupid. I can check a few things of my bucket list now.” There was a little sarcasm, but Tony was truly thankful for her apology. 

“Now, what are we going to do with the Betas?” asked Natasha with a feral grin. 

“Well, we could torture them until they promise to stay quiet,” answered Tony, just as evil.   
Natasha considered it. “Tickle torture?”

Tony scoffed. “What are we, five? Are we going to ask them to pinky-swear with a cherry and sugar on top, too?”

“Well, it’s effective.”

“That is… true, I must agree. But I bet you could think of something more sinister.”

“You know me so well.” Natasha smiled fondly at him, her wings finally lifting up a little. 

“Yes,” Tony responded. “Yes, I do.” He finally allowed himself to relax a little. Tension was now at a minimum. 

Natasha started to dry the dishes Tony was washing, and they worked in compatible silence for a while. When Tony felt feathers heavily brush against his, he looked back and made eye contact with Steve, who smiled at him. “How’d you like dinner?” Goddamnit, Steve was giving him puppy eyes again. But that wouldn’t work this time! 

“I liked it,” Tony mumbled, still rather annoyed at Steve’s behavior at the table.

“I’m glad,” was that only response Tony got aside from a light blush on the soldier’s cheeks. Tony would have chuckled to himself if he wasn’t still a little ticked. When he glanced over at Natasha, she was also somewhat amused. She and Steve met eyes for a moment, Natasha gave him a look that said “I told you you should be softer.” Steve kind of agreed now. Tony watched the Alphas acknowledge each other, happy that these two Alphas were at least neutral together. However, Tony remembered that Natasha had his scent on her. His heart started racing again. He didn’t want Steve to get mad. He didn’t want anyone to get mad. He had just gotten over being mad.

Tony caught Natasha’s eye. “Uh, Nat?”

“Yeah?” The redhead answered. 

“You should, uh, go check and see if we have in body wash in the main bathroom.” Nice, Tony. Totally not suspicious at all. 

Natasha gave him a funny look, but then widened her eyes in understanding. “Sure, Tony. I’ll be back in a sec.” And she turned and walked swiftly away. 

Steve’s expression was a mix between confusion and amusement. That was… weird to say the least. “Uh, is this something I should be concerned about?”

Tony gave him a sickly sweet smile. “Absolutely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki is coming next chapter, and his plan takes action... He starts to pick a victim... DUN DUN DUN!


	20. Target Acquired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki picks a target and Tony runs a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while. Nice to see you again.

“Absolutely not,” Tony answered, a smile sweeter than taffy on his face, and Steve furrowed his brow, wondering what the genius was playing at. Even stranger was the speed at which Natasha speed off, wings streamlined and concentrated. He was about to inquire, but the alarm rang over. Fury’s voice echoed through the tower. 

“Loki sighting near the Empire State Building!” the director thundered. “Get there!”

Tony groaned. “Why, Loki, why? Why did you have to been seen near America’s most iconic structure?”

“Come on, Tony,” Steve said sternly, morphing into Captain America. “Time to suit up.” Wings flared out as he spoke, and Tony got a rare glimpse of the real, powerful, angel-like man that Steve could be, and he quirked one side of his lips. Back to business as usual. 

“Already out, Capsicle,” Tony remarked as his swooshed away, off that floor’s landing platform and into his room, where Mark 49.5 was waiting. 

“Jarvis?” Tony called out. 

“Yes, sir?” The electronic voice responded. 

“Green giggler’s back. Let’s get moving.”

“Aye, sir.”

Tony ripped off his weathered shirt and grabbed one of his nice cotton ones. But, before he threw it over his head, he caught a whiff of himself. A light scent of orange scones was wafting ever so slightly off his skin. Tony’s heart beat in double time. Oh, shit. Dropping the shirt and pressing his wings in, Tony barreled to the bathroom and gave himself a large dousing of the scent blockers. Facing down particularly tricky and merciless Alpha wasn’t a good time to be smelling like… well, himself. Tony grimaced when the harshness of the extra blockers hit his nose, but shook it off. He couldn’t be anything less than Alpha right now. Tony in the mirror, Tony glared at his reflection and plastered on a game face. 

“Not today, Loki. Not today.” 

And with that final statement, Ironman stepped into his armor and jumped from the landing platform, glided up to the section of sky where Captain was giving instructions. He listened half-heartedly, constantly being distracted by the dark-winged assassin slitting in the air around him, not listening whatsoever. She grinned at him when she caught him staring. Tony on turned his head. He almost missing Cap finally flying off, Thor and the Soldier close behind. He accelerated his thrusters and cut through the New York atmosphere, trying to convince himself that his confidence was not false. 

* * *

Yet again, Natasha was herding the masses away from the battle and then joined the fight, but the Hulk was currently gripping the top of the Empire State building and howling at Loki rather intimidatingly. Tony almost laughed. He was definitely going to tell Bruce about his King Kong moment when this all died down. At the moment, however, Tony was firing blast after blast at figures, some of which were real, some not. Loki has brought some backup this time. Not many, maybe a couple dozen, but the dark-skinned, wingless, four-armed aliens riding little flying thingies were certainly worthy foes. 

Tony dodged them decently enough, and Clint was, by far, getting his far share of action, but he rarely landed a hit on one without someone beating him to it. It happened a few more times before Tony paid more attention to it. Sure, he got one or two, but whenever one got a bit too close, a shield would be tossed, a punch would be thrown, or a Bite would be dispersed. Tony couldn’t help but notice how diligently Captain America, Black Widow, and The Soldier were protecting him. That was certainly a new way of battling for them. 

Nearby, Bruce was picking up any strays that were inching closer to the feuding brothers. As per usual, Thor had ended up alone with his best frienemy. Tony could hear their yells, the angry shouts and passionate words. Typical of these kinds of fights. But he didn’t notice how Loki would glance back at him every few moments, at first with question, then with raised eyebrows, then with a grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat’s smirk. Tony wasn’t paying attention to them, though. Even if he wanted to, he was a bit too occupied with aliens at the moment. 

“Why isn’t the Guard here and doing this right now?” Ironman groaned into the com. 

“They’re coming. It’s just taking them a moment,” retorted Cap, knocking a wingless humanoid to his death. 

“Rather long moment,” Ironman said under his breath as a hyper-beam incinerated a second one. 

Captain rolled his eyes. “Patience is a virtue, Ironman.”

Right, thought Tony. And getting turned on by watching someone eat is a fetish. 

* * *

Loki watched the Man of Iron be protected by his team, the obvious Alphas sheltering their smaller teammate. The trickster grinned. Well, isn’t this a new development, he mused, dodging a Thunder-God fist. He watched a little longer, wary of Thor’s rage and ignoring his brother’s words, before he decided to try a little experiment. He slipped away, leaving a hologram for Thor to fight, and watched more intently. Every Alpha near the metal-incapsulated man was very aware of their position, but even more so of Ironman’s. Why? Loki wondered. Why watch this man? 

Suddenly, the Archer was knocked from his perch with a well-placed alien hit and began to plummet toward the unrelenting ground. Immediately, Ironman dove after him.

“Don’t worry, you dolt, I’m coming,” Ironman said as he got closer to the falling human. He gripped an arm and lifted up, righting Hawkeye, letting the dusty-blue-winged man gain flight once again.

“Thanks, Ironrod,” Hawkeye grinned. 

“I will drop you again,” Ironman threatened. 

“Go ahead. I’ll catch myself this time.”

Tony grinned under his mask. 

The more Loki observed the team fight together, the more solid his conjecture.

“Yes,” Loki whispered to himself. “I will take the one who catches others when they fall.”

And he reappeared in front of Thor teasingly, bid him adieu, and vanished as the last of his comrades was knocked from the sky. 

“Loki!” Thor screamed to heavens as his brother disintegrated into small, slivery pieces and was blown away with the wind. Thunder crashed, the gathering clouds rumbling and flashing with pent up anger and resentment. The one raindrop that gave a cold, hard splash on The Winter Soldier’s left cheek was the team’s only warning before it began to pour. Thick torrents flowed down the sides of buildings, and another crash of thunder nearly blocked out the roar of planes approaching. 

“Of course they would show up after the party’s over,” Clint remarked. 

“Fury? You should tell them to stand down since they missed the whole fucking battle,” Tony half-snarked, half-yelled into the com. 

“Agreed,” Bucky murmured, getting a smirk from Tony. 

“Give me a goddamn minute,” Fury almost-shouted. 

But Tony didn’t want to wait. He was already upping his boosters and getting the fuck out of there. He was tired and ready to sleep, his body was achy, what was left of the sun had been covered by Thor’s emotions, and the rain was starting to wig out his suit. And he may or may not be really concerned that he sweated off all of his scent blockers. He actually might have been almost panicking over it. But, you know, minor details. Regardless, he wanted to get home. 

He could hear some people calling him, but he ignored them. He barely registered the Flock Alpha growling through the com. He just wanted to get home. Home, where he could hide and rest and be warmer than he was right now in the fucking distraught downpour. He wove through buildings, watching other people glide to cover, some waving or calling out to him. Normally, he would have waved back. Today, it was a bit too difficult. 

When he got back to the Tower, he calculated he had about ten minutes before Steve came barreling in and demanded that he explain himself about why he ran off in a torrent. Ten minutes to have near-total silence in his home. Ten minutes to come to terms about why he felt fuzzy with the knowledge that his team was protecting him. 

* * *

Steve wanted to dart after his flock-member, but he had to stay, flapping his gold-dipped wings in the pouring rain, to tell the National Guard that no, there wasn’t anyone dead or hurt, the enemy had been taken care of, and yes, they would file a report as soon as they returned and would take more patrols from now on. As if they weren’t going to do those things already.

As soon as it was over, Steve was weaving his way through New York, making his way to Avengers Tower. He had to talk to Tony. Normally, Tony wouldn’t leave like that, especially right after a fight, Normally, he would stay behind and bask a little bit in the glory of defeating another enemy, but the billionaire had left before Steve could even confirm the aliens, as well as Loki, had been erased or, in Loki’s case, vanished. He remembered telling Tony to come back, but not as vividly as Tony not coming back. He ignored him. 

Steve wasn’t exactly mad—“mad” didn’t correctly describe it. He felt disrespected, ignored, not listened to, all things that he, as Flock Alpha, was used to. But on the way home, he couldn’t help but feel like he was getting a little too full of himself; Tony could very well have a decent reason for leaving the scene immediately. If so, Steve was eager to hear it. 

We he landed on the platform, followed closely by Natasha and Bucky, who were both carrying Bruce, Steve caught an eyeful of Tony, on the couch, with a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream on his tummy, laughing his head off at a video on his phone. Steve frowned.  
“Tony,” Steve called, making the Omega jump. 

“Eee! Jesus, Steve. Warn a guy!” Tony said, again turning to laugh at his phone. 

Steve peeled off his mask, then walked over and stood in front of Tony, arms crossed like his mother. “Tony.”

The inventor didn’t even look up. “What?”

“Why did you leave?” Steve said. Great, now he sounded like his mother. 

Tony shrugged, even though his heart was starting to beat a little faster in his chest. “I wanted ice cream.”

‘That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“You just wanted ice cream?”

“Yep.”

Steve rolled his eyes. Of course Tony would want to get home fast to make sure he got his fair share of ice cream. Right, right, that totally made sense. Steve would have easily accepted that answer if he wasn’t a complete fucking idiot. Steve’s wings flared out, and Tony recoiled a little, pulling his once high-held wings inward instinctively. A rush of irritated, sweaty, and even protecting pheromones swiftly blew towards Tony, coating his nose with both a spicy and heady scent. Tony’s head reeled. That was a new combination. 

Slowly, Tony looked up and blinked. Steve didn’t. Tony looked down and lowered his wings. Steve didn’t. This went on for a few minutes at least. Tony almost said something, but Bucky called out from the kitchen. 

“For God’s sake, say something! Anything! Calling Card is almost on, and I want to watch it!”

“Shut up, Bucky,” whispered Natasha. 

Tony almost wished Bucky would talk more and get them out of this situation because Steve wouldn’t let his gaze go. Tony was stuck there until he answered or blew Steve off, which would end badly. So, Tony swallowed. 

How could he explain that he wanted to be home because he could smell himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the amount of fucks I'm giving due to the school year winding down is so low, Satan asked if I'm okay. Please excuse any general shitiness. Also, this story is written for the emotion and character growth, not the action. I suck at writing action. Don't expect any fabulous actions scenes from me. But, as per usual, we will be moving forward from here. 
> 
> Love you all!


	21. Steve's Tired Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's tired, Tony cares, and Bucky just wants to watch his goddamned show. And maybe the phrase "kiss and make up" is taken somewhat literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! So, in addition to this chapter being a bit shorter, Tony's a bit OOC in this chapter, but I want to show him becoming a bit more Omega, as in more caring, more willing to listen, more likely to want to please. AKA, being the peacemaker that Omegas are. It will be a long process, but I enjoying the challenge. Also, this was a make up chapter; not a ton of action or drama (which will come next chapter *wink*), but solving some things that needed to be solved. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

Steve stared at the Omega in front if him, at the vanilla ice cream on his tummy and the small droplet of white staining the man’s lip. No, Steve, focus. Tony did something not good and he needs to explain himself. Right. Even if Steve was exhausted and needed to nap for three days after he had a large snack and a long shower. Several seconds passed, and Tony’s eyes began to wander, glancing at everything except the disciplinarian Alpha in front of him.

As she watched the awkwardness that was this conversation, Natasha rolled her emerald eyes and left the room, her hand clenched around Bucky’s despite the brunette’s protests. 

“Bu— But Calling Card—!”

“Oh, hush. We need to shower, anyway.” In her head, Natasha remembered how she had promised Tony that she would never leave him out of her sight, but this was between Steve and Tony, and she had a feeling that getting involved or even staying in the room would be hindering to the process of making up. 

And with that, the duo left the room, leaving the Head Alpha and Lone Omega by themselves. Tony was immediately on higher alert the moment Natasha and Bucky left. He doubted that he could take Steve by himself if it came to that. Fear seeped into what was left of his scent. “No,” Tony thought. “No, you have JARVIS, and it’s Steve. Steve’s the Alpha. You should trust him.” Tony took a deep breath and tried to relax. It was Steve. Steve wouldn’t hurt him. But he avoided the Alpha’s eye nonetheless and stared at his melting bowl of ice cream.

The Head Alpha noticed how much Tony tensed when the other two left the room, and it made his wings bristle a little. He was too tired for this. Steve rubbed his temples. “Tony, seriously, why did you leave? We still had damage control and Loki disappeared and you just straight-up left. You abandoned your responsibilities. And while you complain about them a lot, you usually do them. This ‘leaving without a word’ thing? That’s…not like you.” Steve’s voice wasn’t as strict as he wanted, coming out more exasperated. Perhaps that was more accurate of how he was actually feeling. 

Tony chuckled to himself. Quite a bit of the past week had been him acting “not like him.” Finally, to Steve’s Alpha’s inner delight, Tony looked up at him. “It… It was the rain. My armor was acting up. “ Not a lie. That did happen. However, Steve looked unsatisfied with the answer, his face giving Tony the look of “really?” Tony paid it no mind. He hadn’t fibbed; what he said was true. Just maybe not the biggest truth. 

Steve sighed, wings lowering in defeat when he realized that was all he was going to get out of the physically older man. “Alright, Tony. I’ll trust you,” he sighed, turning to leave the room, taking his white wings and citrus-leather scent with him. 

Tony was bewildered. Steve must really have been tired to let Tony off the hook like that. Setting his bowl on the coffee table, Tony stood up. “Steve, wait.” The Alpha stopped, but didn’t turn. “Are you okay?” Tony asked tentatively, knowing that if he went about this incorrectly Steve would be volatile. 

The Alpha tensed, but looked over his shoulder. “I’m fine.” 

Tony almost rolled his eyes. Steve was worse than Tony’s mother, who said “I’m fine” when she got a paper cut, after she and Howard fought, during Tony’s grandfather’s funeral. Steve was the same way. Closed off and not willing to speak, yet expecting everyone to do the same for him. For some strange reason, Tony wouldn’t accept this answer. He had to know what was bothering his teammate. His flockmate. A member of his family. 

“Steve, seriously. This whole immediate acceptance thing is not like you.” Yes, he was parroting. Get over it. 

Steve scrunched up his eyebrows. “What?”

Tony sighed dramatically, feigning exasperation. “Normally, I’m questioned for way longer when you think I’ve done something wrong. Come on, what’s bothering you?”

“You,” Steve answered without a beat of hesitation. 

Tony blinked. Okay, well, it was a start. “What about me?” Tony said, grimacing. 

“You won’t tell me the truth.” Again, no hesitation whatsoever. Tony’s wings twitched in irritation because he totally was telling the truth, dammit! But something in Tony was pleased with Steve confiding him with his issues. Even if his issues were mostly Tony related. Oops. 

“Okay then… What makes you think I’m not telling the truth?”

Steve sighed and faced him fully, arms crossed and wings partially in view. “Because I know you, Tony.”

Tony blinked as if he doing so would clear the confusion he had fogging up his head. “Huh?”

“I know you. It’s never just that simple with you. You try to make it seem all one-dimensional, but that’s never the case. It’s always a bit more complex than you lead on.” 

Tony nodded. That was… actually a somewhat true statement. “What do you not like about that?” Where the fuck were the questions coming from? He sounded like his old therapist. No, scratch that, worse than her. How was he coming up with these? 

Steve didn’t seem to notice Tony contorted face and continued talking. “I feel like you don’t trust me. As part of my team, as part of this flock, I need everyone to trust me, you included. When you were acting as an Alpha, I could ignore it. Hell, Nat still doesn’t talk to me, and Bucky barely does. But now that I see you as an Omega. I… I feel like I need to protect you, even thought I know you can do it yourself. When you cover up or gloss over, I feel like I’m not doing a good job as an Alpha. It’s… hard to keep myself in check when I… care about you so much.”

Tony could hardly swallow. Leave it to tired Steve to have an extremely noble, caring explanation as to why he was being such a dickwad. And, as Tony already knew, having this kicked-puppy looked that outdid every Sarah Mclachlin commercial ever composed. And now Steve’s scent smelled like watered down orange juice that someone left in his garage. It was pitiful. 

“Well, uh, t-thank you for, um, telling me your feelings. I’ll just, uh, okay, um…” Tony groaned inwardly. So fucking awkward. 

Steve laughed quietly, just enough to make his shoulder bounce a little. “You sound like my therapist.”

Immediately, Tony jumped on the opportunity to recover. “I know. It’s scary. I have no idea where these are coming from.” 

“Maybe your therapist?”

“Eh. She’s a bit more broad than this,” Tony admitted. There you go, Steve. That’s a truth. 

“Yeah, well, it’s… kinda nice,” Steve murmured. 

“Well, you’re very welcome, Steven. I’ll see you next week at 2:30pm?”

Steve’s smile widened a little, and his scent sharpened from its previous watery-ness. “Of course, Mr. Stark. Thank you for your time.”

The pair chuckled, thankful for the lapse in seriousness. Both pairs of wings were folded back in comfortable neutrality, and Tony felt measurably less weird. Which, in and of itself, was weird. And Steve was looking at him with those fond eyes again, staring at him like there was something of worth in his very soul. Like Steve would take care of him. Oh, shit. Tony rested his hand on his neck in one of his only shy mannerisms. Steve grinned. 

“So, you good now?” Tony asked. 

“Yeah, I’m good,” Steve said, wings held at confidence height and scent normal. 

“Well, good is decidedly better than fine, so I’ll take it,” Tony quipped, determined to get some of his sass back. 

Steve’s face finally softened, the Alpha now truly relaxed. “Yeah.” Two steps forward and he was a foot in front Tony, arms extended and curling around the slighter man. Tony squeaked when he felt the warmth, shivered when large, able hands encircled his shoulders and held him. Note to self: Steve is a bit more cuddly when tired. Tony didn’t think of himself as short or petite by any means, but as he was hugged by the gold-tipped-white-winged man, he undoubtably felt smaller. Sometimes he forgot how large Steve was, how much taller, wider, stronger. How Steve could throw Tony over his shoulder without straining in the least. Being pressed against those impressive muscles and surrounded by Steve roughened sweetness made Tony want to purr. Loudly. 

Shoving that thought back where it belonged, Tony just remained in Steve’s arms for a few moments longer, until Steve pulled away and looked at him with relief and fondness. Tony just stared at Steve’s chin and smiled softly. 

“So,” Steve said quietly, getting the Omega’s attention. “I told you my feelings. Are you ever going to tell me yours?”

Tony’s eyes widened. “Well, uh—.”

The flap of wings and a stumbling of feet alerted Tony to the rest of the flock coming onto the floor via landing platform. They were all completely soaked, and each of them looked awful. Thor appeared downtrodden and spent, his face sporting a few cuts, his scent so washed-out that Tony had this instant urge to run up and give Thor a huge hug. Bruce was almost asleep on his feet and being held up by Clint, who had blood on his face from a deep forehead nick. Thinking quickly, Tony pulled away from Steve, darted to the kitchen, and turned on the kettle, knowing that Bruce would want tea and Thor would want cocoa. 

“JARVIS,” Tony called. “Tell Nat and Ironfist to get in here in a few minutes and bring the first aid kit. I doubt that anybody wants to go to medical for a couple cuts.”

“Right away, sir,” replied the AI. 

“Alright, you guys,” Tony said, turning to the men gathered at the entrance. “Steve, run and get Bruce some clothes, and everybody else, go change and rise off. Nat and Bucky will be here with the first aid kit in a moment. Now, scat!”

Thor trudged off, leaving his hammer on the ground, and Clint followed close behind after setting Bruce on the couch. Steve had vanished in search of clothing, and Tony remained in the room, pulling out mugs and throwing a blanket on his science bro. Steve was the first one back, holding a tee shirt and sweatpants, and threw them onto his Beta without a second thought. When Bruce was tucked in and warm, Steve turned to Tony, who was stirring hot cocoa mix into his mug. The Alpha smiled. 

“Thank you, Tony,” Steve said. 

Tony fondly rolled his eyes. “Gotta take care of the team, right?”

Steve nodded. “That you do. Well, I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be back in a bit.” 

Tony almost didn’t process Steve leaning over and pecking Tony on his forehead. By the time he did, Steve was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not so bad, huh? Now that it's summer for me, I'm trying to get myself to update more. Also, no more asshole Steve. We're done with him unless absolutely necessary.


	22. Avengers Business Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has a business meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one, over 3,800 words. Enjoy!

It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, but Tony was over 146% certain that Steve, big ol’ Flock Alpha Steve, had just been delicate with him. And Tony liked it. But a few seconds after Steve left, Nat and Bucky were in the room, the red-striped-winged woman with the first aid kit and the green-blue feathered man just provided an extra pair of hands. Thor stomped in shortly after, and Clint dropped down from a ceiling vent, to which Tony rolled his eyes. Bucky tended to Thor’s cuts while Nat gingerly bandaged up Clint, and Tony just hung out in the background, sipping his cocoa. The silence was like the calm before an impending storm. 

Tony could smell the whirlwind of emotions ripping through the room: Thor’s anger and regret, Clint’s pent up wildness, Natasha’s leashed fury, and Bucky’s “I’m trying to be calm but I’m internally screaming” thing that was just a wave of conflicting information. Steve’s light citrus-scented-leather-jacket smell was the only uplifting scent around, Tony’s included. He hated to admit it, but he wanted to be comforting right about now. His flock kinda needed it. Too bad he didn’t really know how. 

When Bruce started to stir, Tony immediately darted to the kitchen and poured his science bro a warm mug of the weird Indian tea that he liked so much. On autopilot, Tony stirred in three sugars and a splash of whole milk, then placed it in Bruce’s well-worn hands. The genius looked at the mug, took a sniff, stared at Tony, and smiled larger than Tony had seen him smile in a long time, his scent and wings lifting. Good, Tony thought to himself. I did something right for once.

Thor grumbled when Bucky’s treatments began to go overboard, but Bucky shushed him with a decently hard peck on the lips. It shut Thor up for a moment, anyway. Tony approached the group, wings low and out of the way, and put a comforting hand on Thor’s shoulder. Tony knew how hard it was for Thor to face his brother in battle as often as they did; it took an emotional toll on him. The Omega wished he could help with the pain. The hand was replaced with his head, and Tony let himself relax on the Demigod, as if the connection would draw some torture out. 

“So,” Tony said quietly. “Are we all good?”

Thor sighed. “If you mean ‘Are all in the party still whole?’ then yes, we are.”

“Okay, good,” Tony said, recognizing the tone in Thor’s voice that meant ‘I’m emotionally and physically spent and need a moment.’ Without much emphasis, Tony took a deep breath, gathering in the woodsy scent that drifted from the large, blond Alpha. “But, I take it that we’re all pretty tired?”

Groans of agreement reverberated in the area.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Bruce called from the couch. 

“Hey, JARVIS. Order take-out. The good kind. And add in an extra serving of shrimp fried rice for Clint and eggrolls for Bruce and Steve.”

“Right away, sir,” the Ai replied. 

“Thanks, Tony,” Clint slurred, as if trying to stay awake for that long was going to disastrous. 

Tony only hummed in response. 

Steve saunters back in then, relaxed and calm even though there’s an emotional clusterfuck sitting in the breakfast nook by the kitchen. Tony only looks at him tenderly and averts his gaze quickly, still processing the chaste yet loaded kiss Steve gave him not ten minutes ago. Steve grins and flares his beautiful feathers just a little. Tony ignores the very subtle, bemused glance Natasha directs at him. Clint’s and Thor’s injuries are given a final bandage and the flock retreats to the living room couches. 

Like usual, Tony plops himself right in the center and moves to spread out some, but that plan is immediately thwarted by Thor and Steve boxing him in, Steve on his left, Thor on his right, while Bruce curls himself right at Tony’s feet, wings relaxed and soft, wheat-like earthiness wrapping him very snuggly alongside welcoming woods and lovable orange-y leather. Again, Tony fights the urge to purr, especially when Steve places an arm around his shoulders, and Thor rests a hand on the place where his shoulders melt into his wings. Bookended by virile-ness and grounded by care, Tony fights hard to keep himself mindlessly watching a Disney movie that he honestly can’t remember the name of. His throat begins to ache. 

Just when he was about to “go to the bathroom” and let himself catch his breath, JARVIS echoed through the room. 

“Delivery is here, sir.”

“Yes!” Clint shouted. “I’m so hungry I’m ready to cut off Steve’s bicep and eat that.”

Steve chuckles in the same way a mother chuckles at her toddler saying a word he doesn’t understand. “Oh, were you, now? Hm?”

Clint’s wings rise in playful challenge. “Yep. Was gonna toss it in spices, but I might’ve had it raw, too.”

Steve’s grin becomes feral. “Yeah, Clint. We all know you like it raw.”

Even Natasha scoffs. 

Tony just sighs, not even bother to hide a blush, and gets up to get the food. He had said worse than that—he was Tony Stark, after all—but hearing it come from the Flock Alpha and knowing that it was probably a true statement had him caught between amusement, astonishment, disbelief, mortification, and plain old hope. It was a very strange cocktail of emotion. He opened the door and was surprised by the taped box sitting on the threshold, right next to the delivery guy. He looked up, paid and tipped the blue-haired, olive-winged man, and took both packages into the kitchen. 

Placing the takeout on the counter—and flinching when Clint ripped the bag in half to get to the food, then slapping him—Tony looked over the box. A lot of materials rattled inside when he shook it, which took out it being a bomb, but Tony still felt like he knew what it was. It was completely unmarked and had very little shipping damage on it. Mumbling an excuse to leave, Tony walked kinda-sorta quickly down the hallway, wings stiff and low and leaving an anxious scent behind, and into one of the smaller tinkering areas on that floor. What? Going to his workshop every time he had an idea would be exhausting. 

Getting his sharpest scissors, Tony sliced the box open and quickly saw the note sitting atop the bottles and containers. It was from Dr. Marlene. 

‘Dear Tony, 

Here is the corrected batch of scent suppressors and wing color augmenters. I tested these myself twice, so if they are screwed up, blame Jasper. Hopefully all capsules remained stable throughout the delivery. Call me when you get them. 

Best wishes, 

Dr. Angela Marlene’

Relief flooded Tony, but he then remembered how people knew about his Omeganess now. His flock knew. The Alphas knew. Tony wanted to call her, to confirm that he got them, but he was in the middle of a group cuddle, plus he couldn’t use them right now; the team would smell the difference immediately. Remember, Tony thought, postpone the agony. He would put them on tomorrow. As quickly as he could, he took the elevator to his room and hid the box in his bathroom, then raced back up and acted as though nothing strange or out of the ordinary had happened in those three minutes. 

When he returned to the living room, only Clint and Nat gave him funny looks, but they were thoroughly and promptly ignored. He easily settled between the two blond Alphas once again and reverted his attention to the television screen. Once he was comfortable, Steve and Thor replaced their arms on him, Tony really, truly didn’t mind it. It wasn’t until Thor leaned over and gave the spot behind Tony’s ear a deep, intimate, breathy intake. 

“You smell absolutely divine,” Thor murmured, causing Tony to freeze. He was totally unprepared for that. 

“Uh, thanks,” Tony mumbled back, feeling weird because he knew he wasn’t going to smell like that tomorrow.

Thankfully, Thor ignored the awkwardness and scooted a little bit closer

He probably wasn’t going to sleep too well tonight. 

* * *

Tony woke up from a night of tossing and turning, which wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary, but it was what he was thinking about that was… concerning at best. All he could think about was the looks on his teammates faces when they realized how Tony was absent scent-wise. They were probably going to confront him again. He even considered not wearing them. It could turn out to be way more trouble from his flock that it was worth. But then, Tony thought about battles, about encounters on the street, the fact that he wasn’t mated, and how it could prove to be a great hindrance to him in his current situation. Now was not the time to have his identity altered. Sorry, Alphas, you will have to wait. 

Dr. Marlene was right; his suppressors were a crutch. But they gave Tony some power: power over himself. It was only about ten-ish years ago that Tony had been about to think, feel, and breathe for his own sake. His father, Obie, Afghanistan, all took power away from him. Reverting back to feeling powerless would be mental suicide. 

And then there was his flock. People who cared, who wanted to care, who looked at Tony as a human instead of a bargaining chip or and easy way to rise to the top, wanted him for him. Tony appreciated that more than he could put into words. They were important enough to him that that he as willing to save and be saved. Maybe what they said did have some substance to it… Maybe.

Despite his anxieties, this night of restlessness had given Tony some time to think, scheme, and consider negotiations. This time, Tony wasn’t going in without protection from the wit and intelligence that he used to cut the deals and contracts that had taken him as far as he had. This time, Tony had a bit of a plan. 

That morning, Tony showered, applied the dye, took his suppressant, applied the scent blockers, and cocooned himself in his softest teeshirt and sweatpants. Padding downstairs with an air of nonchalance, he passed Natasha and Bruce as he puttered around in the kitchen, but there was little reaction until Nat narrowed her emerald eyes at him, her expression stormy and questioning. Tony acted oblivious. He needed to maintain his solid, even surface. Tony could tell that Bruce noticed, but he only rolled his eyes and sighed, which Tony was very thankful for. Natasha, however, didn’t perpetuate the silence. 

“Tony, why do you smell different?” Natasha questioned. “Or, more accurately, practically nonexistent?”

The Omega didn’t allow the question to sway him. He hoped this would happen: he would lay his cards on the table, they would lay theirs, they would reach a mutual agreement, then he would absorb their business… Well, something like that. 

“I got my new shipment of suppressors yesterday.” Clipped, emotionless, nothing revealed. 

Natasha stiffened immediately. “Is that so?” Her scent soured. 

Tony refused to acknowledge the redhead Alpha’s reaction. He had his game face on. He was ready. “Yes, it’s true. I know how much you guys don’t like me wearing them, but this is necessary for me.” And he left it at that. No more evidence until everyone was on the same level. 

“Yes, we know, Tony. But we want you to be comfortable not—.”

“Then we work up to that if I choose. But until a plan is established, I will do what I want with my own body.” Tony cursed himself the moment he spoke. Dammit, he just revealed another card in his hand. Despite that, however, Tony couldn’t let Natasha continue to push her Alpha agenda with that “we want you to be out and natural” idea. It wasn’t realistic, at least for the foreseeable future. 

Tony left the room with his coffee. Something told him that Nat wouldn’t be silent about their exchange.   
* * *

As she watched the Kestrel-dyed Omega leave the room, the emotions swirling within her threatened to break loose. She almost followed him. A hand reached out and glided along the top of her shaking, frustrated wings, and, although it wasn’t much, it helped. The Beta behind her sighed with her, but there was understanding on his features instead of disbelief. His scent was watery, lowered, while hers was spicier, angrier, ready to confront. 

“Nat, please,” Bruce murmured. 

“I know, it’s just, well, he just such a—.”

“Yeah, that,” the Beta chuckled. 

“Mhmm. He won’t just lest us help him!”

Bruce snatched his hand from Natasha’s feathers. He could get the Alpha thing, really, he could, the need to protect and keep safe and being a savior. But this was different. This was a mental, inner thing, not a physical threat with an actual shape or form. They needed to understand. 

“What about you, Natasha?”

“What?” she responded. “How is this about me?”

“You never let us help you. You refused to be open for over a year. Obviously, what you went through was, arguably, a bit more drastic, but you are being hypocritical. Tony’s been this way for a very long time, and breaking this addiction will take more than just you guys telling him to stop. It’s about progress, not cutting off.”

Natasha paused despite her initial response of ire. Bruce had a very valid point; she was being hypocritical to a degree. It had taken her forever to have un-calculated conversations with her team. She was still learning. 

But this was her family. She needed to help. She needed Tony to be okay. 

“But—.”

“No, Nat. If he’s not comfortable with himself, nothing will keep him that way more securely than criticism. It’s just reinforcing that insecurity.” There was a heavy pause. “As someone lower on the scale, it’s hard to be only told what you’re doing wrong. When you’re disciplined by an Alpha, it’s different. You’re settled. But being only verbally corrected without an outlet? It can be damaging.”

Bruce may not have noticed the two other Alphas that entered the room midway through his speech. Steve and Bucky may not have noticed that Bruce was giving a speech until it was too late. Upon hearing Bruce, Steve’s stomach dropped and Bucky’s heart stopped. What was Bruce talking about? Why? Who? 

It was only after the surrounding area was flooded with a burst of concerned, flustered, worried, and slight curiosity that Bruce looked up and around, making eye contact with blue-eyed Bucky. The green and azure feathers attached to the Alpha’s back began to shiver. 

Bruce didn’t know what to say. 

Natasha didn’t know what to feel. 

Steve and Bucky didn’t know what to do. 

* * *

The second he was out of his flockmates’ sight, Tony sprinted to his room and picked up his phone. He dialed Dr. Marlene’s number from memory. 

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Click. 

“Hello, Dr. Angela Mar—.”

“Angela, it’s me,” Tony interrupted anxiously. 

“Oh, hello, Tony. I assume you got the package. Was everything in order?” she asked politely. 

Tony was quick to respond. “Yes, yes, everything’s fine. I’m wearing them, and they’re just as good as before. Simply superb. But I’m calling for another reason.”

“Go on,” Dr. Marlene prompted. 

Tony took a deep breath. “They’re not happy about it.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Dr. Marlene said, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

“Well, me neither, and I think I know how I’m going to get them off me, but… I don’t know. I feel… I feel like this is a bad idea.”

“Tony, talking about things and negotiating and compromising is part of being in a flock. You have to give them a chance to at least speak their opinions.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but what if I don’t like their opinions?”

“Doesn’t matter. You still have to hear them out.” Tony could tell that she was keeping all of the emotion out of her voice. 

Tony huffed. “Fine. I can do that. But, Angela, they’re, well, they’re Alphas, and I’m not. They can get me to do stuff.”

“Have they tried to command you before?”

Tony hesitated. “No, but it’s only a matter of time.”

He heard Angela sigh. “I suppose that’s true. But, like I said Tony, you need to give them a chance.” Exasperation was started to edge her tone. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but I’m… I’m…” Tony trailed off. 

“You're scared,” Dr. Marlene said matter-of-factly. 

“Yes. I’m very scared. I have no idea of how this is going to go.”

“You know, Tony, I used to have the same issue.”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“Yep. When I was first being courted by Luna and Gabriel, I wouldn’t tell them anything. Not only was I still on suppressants, but I barely responded to their advances. Even after we bonded, I couldn’t open up. I was scared to death that it was all going to end the moment I opened my mouth. Please, Tony. Trust them. You’re letting yourself be terrified by a nonexistent monster.” Her tone was soft, like she was talking to a young adult, not someone who had been around the block as many time as he had. But, yet again, Dr. Marlene was right. He needed to trust or this wouldn’t work and they would all be miserable. 

Whether he liked it or not, Tony cared about them and was part of the flock. He had to preserve it as best he could. He wasn’t going to let something this important be taken away from him. Something clicked in Tony’s soul. If it meant his team would be better off, he was willing to change a little. 

“Thank you, Angela. I think I get it now.”

“I certainly hope so,” Dr. Marlene said, and, although he couldn’t see it, Tony knew she was smiling for him. 

He could do this… maybe. 

* * *

Tony decided to kill some time in his workshop, partly because he wasn’t quite ready to go back upstairs and talk, but also because Stark Industries was starting to breath down his neck for the next version of not only the StarkPhone, but also a public-friendly version of the StarkPad AND to update the main servers and Tony was kind of being swallowed. But it was the kind of swallowing he was used to. He worked well under this kind of pressure.

But several hours later and about as many cups of coffee and three apples, Tony was still scratching his head about the connection between the external and outer servers compatibility and why they were having issues connecting on a larger scale. He would probably breakthrough in a little longer, but his head was aching and he needed a glass of water and a break. SI could wait four more hours. 

Tony had basically forgotten about the ripples he created that morning, so it took him a moment to figure out why the people in the kitchen were giving him such weird looks. As when he did, it took him a moment to put his game face back on and act like there was noting out of the ordinary. 

But that was difficult. 

Obviously, all of the people he lived with in Avengers Tower were super-powered in some way. But Thor, Steve, even Bruce weren’t nearly as daunting as Clint or Natasha or Bucky could be. Those three were hardened assassins, trained to find loopholes or insecurities and use them to their advantage. So, knowing that Bucky was basically a predator and Natasha was practically omnipotent and Clint could mostly see everything didn’t help the consistency of his game face. 

Especially with all three in his general vicinity at the same time. 

And something told him they had all been debriefed about his morning escapades. 

Clint, as per usual, was perched on the counter, watching Tony the way he watched targets: carefully, completely, and coldly. Bucky was just stealing heat-filled glances, and not the sexy kind, while Natasha was barely even acknowledging him. Okay, not good. 

Tony just opened the fridge like a normal person, pulled out leftover pasta, and went about his business. He wasn’t really expecting commentary. 

“So, Nat wasn’t kidding.” That was definitely Clint. 

Tony turned and looked at him without emotion. Unreadability was Tony’s superpower. “Nat rarely kids in the first place.”

Clint gave a frustrated chuckle. “That’s true. But this I was having issues believing.”

“What? That I’m thinking for myself?”

Clint rolled his eyes. “Not the way I would word it.”

Then it was Tony’s turn to roll his eyes. “Right.” 

The silence that followed reminded Tony of the moments after he had made an offer that the competitors were considering. Those silences were loaded with thought, just like this one. 

Bucky was the one who broke it. “Are you trying to stir us up, Tony?” And oh, that was angry and confused Bucky. Shit, shit, shit. Tony immediately wanted to either bare his neck and calm Bucky down, growl at him, which was a horrible idea, or run from the room. So, Tony answered. 

“In a way, yes.”

“Why, Tony?” Bucky’s tone sharpened. 

“Negotiations. I know you all hate the fact that I wear suppressors, and I’m willing to talk about it for once in my natural like. But it will only work if you all listen to me.”

Another heavy, business-meeting pause. 

“Fine,” Natasha said quietly. “We’ll listen.”

“Marvelous,” Tony responded immediately. “JARVIS, call in the rest of the team, would you?”

“Of course, sir.”

Tony had to hide his grin. This meeting was going exactly the way he wanted it to: on his turf and on his terms. Perfect. If only he had brought his notecards with him. 

Steve, Thor, and Bruce walked in at about the same time, wings and scents nervous, and Tony deflected all questions by saying, “All questions will be answered at the end of the meeting.” Old habits die hard. 

Steeling himself against the emotion-filled space, Tony took a deep breath before starting his sales pitch. 

“So, as most, if not all, of you know, I am again wearing higher-quality suppressors, ones that cancel out scent, limit wing oil, and lower Alphas’ command control. All of you are not comfortable knowing that I am masquerading as an Alpha, even though this is my body and I can choose what to do with it. I know of the affect suppressors can have. I have spoken to my doctor about it several times.” He could vaguely see Natasha glaring at Clint for mimicking him. Always a sense of humor with that one. “So, I’m willing to offer you a deal.”

And just like that, he had the attention of every single person in the room, just like his typical meetings. Splendid. 

“I will apply my suppressants three times a week and every time before a battle. In exchange, you all get to shut up about my suppressant use until I see fit.”

The room shivered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be cuddles, reactions, and a little more Loki. Also, if you read Sacred Space and Finding a Place, I'm updating at the end of the month! Stay tuned!!! *wipes sweat from brow* *falls asleep at desk*


	23. A Dyed Heart Reborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Compromise, cuddles, and cunning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAND I'M BACK! 
> 
> PLEASE ENJOY!
> 
> This chapter was a big challenge for me, so IMHO it's a bit sub par. But hey, Tony does a thing! I am proud of him. I hope you are too!

Normally, Tony would have had a large amount of supplies with him during his meetings, including, but not limited to, graphs, computers, fancy graphics, extensive research, Happy, Pepper, a glass of scotch, notes, a stunning smile, and his incredible intellect. Right now, he had maybe three of those things, and JARVIS always reprimanded him for drinking alcohol before noon. So, he’d just have smile and talk his way through it. All eyes were on him, and he wielded all of the power while making it seem as though the others even had a chance. He may have not been in an actual business collaboration, but the pressure was just as high. 

Tony fucking loved it. 

With wings held high and with a cleared throat, Tony began his little case. “Because of my current state as head of Stark Industries and the world pioneer of greener, more earth-friendly energy, I have a reputation with a considerable amount riding upon it. It is unlikely that I will ever be able to be an out Omega without disrupting my empire and allies. So, before you mat your feathers, please eject those ideas from your head.”

Everyone sighed. Tony ignored them. 

“However, your cries of woe have not fallen upon deaf ears, and I am willing to negotiate, as I said before. I have flexible terms under most circumstances. I have given a starting point with tri-weekly and pre-battle suppressant usage. If you have any objections, please voice them.”

It was silent for all of two seconds before Bucky spoke. “Tri-weekly is a bit much, Tony. Isn’t that basically how often they’re supposed to be used anyway?”

Steve furrowed his brow. “How in the world would you know that?”

“Because knowing weird, tiny things about borderline-legal stuff is a hobby of mine, asshole.” Bucky’s eyes rolled so far back that Tony almost laughed… Almost. 

“Well, soldier, for your information, I use it every single day before for extra security, so nudging back to three days is quite the jump for me,” Tony countered. 

“Would the lack of what I assume are scent and heat suppressors, respectively, have any affect on your internal biology in any malicious ways?” 

Tony smiled thankfully at his science bro sitting in the armchair. “My dear Dr. Banner, I’d never thought you’d ask. I have been doing some pretty extensive research myself, and I do believe that three is, indeed, the magic number. It’s a step toward not using them, but it still blocks the worst of heat symptoms, scent, oil production, and susceptibly towards Alpha commands.” The Alphas in the room cringed and huffed, the room souring, and Tony tried not to grin. “The effects are simply less intense.”

Bruce nodded, his salt-and-peppered wings also moving in consideration and possible acceptance. This gesture was repeated throughout the room.

Then Steve just had to talk. “Well, Tony, I think that this is a fine idea, but I feel that this is a bit too underwhelming.”

Tony stiffened. “In what way, Mr. Rogers?”

“I feel as though you are a tad too comfortable with these arrangements. The suppressants are a fine start, but don’t you think that you should push in a different direction in order to accept yourself fully, at least within the tower?” Steve sounded so nonchalant that it sounded as though he were talking to a casual friend. 

Tony was terrified, but also very intrigued and slightly turned on. Steve was basically copy-catting him in tone and delivery, making hi, sound just as much the businessman that Tony actually was. He loved being in power, really, he did, but there was something about seeing and hearing an Alpha own the space that did something for him. Bit Tony wasn’t sure if he liked Steve encroaching on his turf. Tony was in charge right now. And he was going to own it. 

“Acceptance of one’s self is a process, Mr. Rogers. It’s about progress and celebrating small moments, not jumping outside comfort zones simply because someone asks you to. I feel that my terms are agreeable and not unreasonable.” Tony’s confidence refused to take that point lying down.

“Yes, but I feel that some pushing in necessary. Stepping outside well-biult borders can be helpful in the long run.” Steve’s eyebrow lifted and his eyes hardened.

Tony’s quick reply nearly cut Steve off. “Indeed, but in moderation.”

Finally, Steve’s wings flared a little. “I do not feel that my request will, however, be unreasonable either, Mr. Stark.”

And oh, did that do it. Steve’s voice was still even, but the power and defiance that burst through in the words “Mr. Stark” almost made Tony growl. Fine, Tony thought. Let’s see what you got, Rogers.

“Very well, then,” Tony said, voice sweetened. “What is your suggestion, Mr. Rogers?”

Steve looked like he hadn’t expected that response, but spoke just as evenly as before. “Well, I think there should he one more criteria, and, I dare say, that Dr. Marlene would side with me on this one.” Tony froze at the mention of his dear doctor’s name. What the hell was Steve thinking? And why was he smirking like that?

“If you are wearing your suppressors, you should go without wing dye.”

Tony could barely think for an answer that refuted that idea before Natasha peeped up from her spot against the couch. 

“I like that. I like that a lot,” she murmured, and all the Alphas agreed with her instantly, Tony could sense it. 

“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but, in case this wasn’t said before, I make the decisions right now. My body, my rules. I will agree with what I see fit.”

Bucky frowned in slight annoyance. He could totally see how Tony built the “empire” he had. That “my_____, my rules” thing was probably was useful tactic… if you were dealing with halfwits. 

Thor spoke up. “That is not fair, Tony. We are flock, family. We will take nothing less than respect and equality for all in this relationship. That includes you. This is a major decision that affects everyone involved, and we must reach a compromise where everyone is at least somewhat satisfied. You taking precedence over us is distasteful. ”

Tony looked at Thor, appreciation and irritation competing for his expression. Those words had been on the tip of his tongue for his whole life, that no, your happiness isn’t more important than mine. Agreement is best. Mutual-ness. Compatibility. Yes, he agreed that those things needed to happen. But he wasn’t sure what his flock would do if he gave their opinions equal ground with his. He didn’t want to have them control him. He didn’t… He didn’t trust them. Not enough to be vulnerable. 

“Please, Tony. Trust them. You’re letting yourself be terrified of an imaginary monster.” 

Dr. Marlene’s words rattled in his head until they punctured his heart and took hold of his brain. They demanded he do it. To trust. 

Tony took a breath. “Fair enough, Thor. I will call bullshit on myself in that respect.”

Clint’s eyes widened and his wings lifted. “So, you’ll do it?” The hope in his voice tore Tony apart. He could try.

“Yes, but on one condition: if I am not comfortable with doing it that day, for whatever particular reason, please do not push or pester me. It’s counterproductive and a waste of time.”

Natasha answered as everyone else nodded. “Noted.”

“Good,” Tony answered, his tone indicating the end of the meeting. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

His flock just smiled at him, causing Tony to suddenly feel quite self-conscious, and turned to retreat to grab that glass of scotch, JARVIS be damned. 

The hug Natasha gave him by the liquor cabinet was surprising yet comforting, and he almost didn’t notice Bucky’s hand sneaking toward the glass siting on the counter. 

“Go ahead, Ironfist. Do it. Just be wary next time I do updates on your arm. I might just install a ‘why are you hitting yourself?’ button that only I can disable.” Tony was only half serious. Besides, both Clint and Bruce were giggling in the background because the face Bucky was making was just too good.

* * *

Despite his calm-ish demeanor after the meeting, Tony, unwilling to admit it as he was, was anxious. He had taken extra measures before he even considered not wearing the dye. The cameras on all of the Avengers’ floor were disables and rerouted to Tony’s personal databank that JARVIS would unlock in case of emergency. Then, he called Pepper to tell her not only the new drama, but also to ensure that her “hidden cameras” (most of which Tony had found, replaced, and encrypted) were being carefully monitored by only Happy or herself. One leak and he was a goner. 

After heavily discussing the events that took place, Pepper agreed and gave Tony a big mental hug that made him genuinely smile. He loved her. 

But, security and gossip aside, Tony was still focused on looking for any of Loki’s movements, days started to go by, and, like before, hardly anything was detected. The closest they got was an old warehouse that housed a covert line of bomb makers, which they let SHIELD take care of. Tony didn’t know what to make of it. 

And, on top of all that, Tony was anxious about going a whole entire day without wearing dye. How was he going to do that? He wanted his suppressors, but he also wanted his dye, together. At the same time. And he had agreed not to. He had walked right into a very tricky situation. The last thing he needed was any of his Flockmates calling him out.

He had never been fond of being punished. 

So, after a few days of not wearing the suppressors, Tony decided to bite the bullet and try to trust. He showered and applied the suppressors that evening to limit the amount of tie that he was going to be seen. He felt naked in the worst, least sexy way. But he had to. 

After the compromise, Tony didn’t apply the suppressors for a couple days, wanting to postpone the “no dye day.” But soon, he was able to smell himself, and his Flock noticed. He wasn’t quite ready to parade himself in front of Bucky, whose pupils had gotten a little larger every time he saw the Omega. Tony was starting feel like prey, and he couldn’t decide if he liked it. And if Bucky was hunting him, it was only a matter of time before Steve did, too. Those two just kinda went together, like vanilla ice cream and apple pie. 

Great, now Tony was hungry. 

Tony rinsed the dye away in the shower, soaped his feathers and his body well, and took in front of his mirror for at least fifteen minutes just staring at his wings. The iridescence and striking colors had intensified the older he became, and, just as he was when he finished his last molt, he was mesmerized by them. If they were on any other human, Tony would have been stunned. But they were attached to his shoulder blades, a symbol of everything he wasn’t supposed to become. Tony tired to shove those thoughts away to the tiny corner where they resided. He could freak out later. 

Anyway, Tony ended up downstairs, standing behind the couch with arms crossed and wings folded, while Clint and Natasha bickered over what Disney movie to pop in. His chuckling gave away his presence, and when Steve, Bucky, and Bruce, who were either on the couch or sitting on the floor nearest to it, saw him, their eyes widened and awe painted their faces. Tony was almost amused, and put a finger to his lips in the international ‘hush’ symbol. 

Bruce gave him a subtle thumbs-up, Steve just smiled, and Bucky huffed in a gruntled manner before grabbing Tony’s handing a tugging him, silently asking for him to join him and Steve on the couch. Tony had a brief remembrance of the day when Steve showed off for him, and he quickly put those away. He did not need that kind of mental stimulation right now. 

He followed Bucky’s lead, but, instead letting him of sitting on cushions, Bucky pulled Tony into his lap. Tony squeaked, but Bucky hushed him with a very cocky grin. Green, indigo, purple, blue, and sliver feathers were put right into Bucky and Steve’s field of vision, and Tony felt embarrassingly exposed. He squirmed, but Bucky began to stroke him up and down his back, soothingly, carefully, tenderly. It made Tony completely rethink moving. 

Clint won the argument and popped in Aladdin, one of his favorites. Tony snickered. What a sap. 

Tony let his lids droop the longer Bucky touched him, not afraid to monitor his scent because he had just taken suppressants, but still very well aware of his bare-winged-ness. His wings where still held very close to his body, nervous and tense, and Bucky didn’t really know how Tony was feeling. All he could do was keep tracing Tony’s back with calloused, too-careful touches. 

Steve saw the weirdness in Bucky’s expression, and something in him told him to help his Flockmate. He leaned over, tapped Bucky on his metal shoulder and whispered, “Hey, lay him down lengthwise.” 

Bucky’s answer was a face. 

“Come on. It’ll help him relax.”

Tony opened his eyes when he realized he was being shifted, but the new position with his body spread out across Bucky’s and Steve’s laps was much more comfortable. Especially when Bucky started to massage his scalp and Steve rubbed his feet. Tony was in pure bliss. Bucky’s fingers were moving in little circles that Tony couldn’t not relax from, and Steve’s hands were just rough enough to cause the perfect amount of friction. Tony knew he was going to fall asleep. This was just too good. 

Right around the time Aladdin found the lamp, Tony was dead to the world. 

Natasha, who was only paying attention half-heartedly to the movie, heard a very faint, vibrating sound when she turned to grab some gummy worms. It was deep, soft, like the purr of a wildcat. A sound she had heard before. No way, she thought. It couldn’t be. She swiveled her head, trying to pinpoint the sound, and when her eyes landed on the mechanical genius asleep between two blue-eyed Alphas, she smiled so hard she thought she would cry. 

Tony was purring. In front of everyone. And he was asleep. Oh, my fucking God. 

Bucky and Steve were looking down at Tony, appreciation and love and care int their eyes, wings held high behind them and scents so happy the room was beginning to overload with sweetness. 

Natasha poked Clint. “Hey, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” he asked. 

“Listen.”

And then Clint heard it. His face lit up, wings lifted, and Natasha nearly giggled. “Is that… is that Tony?” Clint asked incredulously. 

Natasha nodded. 

“It is quite a wonderful sound,” Thor murmured from somewhere in the room. Natasha could hardly care. All she could hear was evidence of a content, trusting Omega. Tony wasn’t afraid. His wings were out, he was purring, and Bucky was smiling so genuinely that Natasha knew that this was a turning point. 

Tony, even while deep in recharge, could feel himself centered. There were people watching over him. He was safe in a way that he had never experienced before. He didn’t want to leave. Ever. 

Dr. Marlene was right. Again. 

Damn her. 

* * *

Loki hovered a few hundred feet away from Avengers Tower, the telescope he was able to acquire held up and aimed at the windows. Despite the glass’ heavy tint, he was still able to see some semblance of the inside. And now, he had his sights on one particular genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. 

He grinned to himself. “No doubts now.”

The Avengers wouldn’t know what happened until it was far too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally, that's the cheesiest ending I've ever posted/written ever in my life. I'm not even kidding. But, in my defense, it's 11:00 pm (which is late for me) and I had not caffeine or sugar today. Yeah, let's just blame it on that.
> 
> Oh, did you think it was going to be all happy forever? 
> 
> Well, probably not. But, regardless, MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
> 
> *hides in evil lair* *plans next chapter*


	24. The Touch of Another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tony gets a taste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea for sporadic updates and month-long trips! 
> 
> So, many of you guys were like "OMG, no drama, just cuddles!" and I was like "yeah, but drama needs to happen..." and I was dead set on staying within my own lines and then this chapter fucking happened. It literally wrote itself. I barely even realized what I had written until I re-read it, slapped myself, then said "Fuck it! We'll post two separate fucking chapters today!" As a warning, Tony is a tad OOC. 
> 
> #WinterIron
> 
> Feel free to fangirl.

Nestled between the two Alphas and cocooned by the collective scents of everyone closest to him, Tony felt better that he’d had in a long time. He barely even cared that his most guarded secret was on full display. He was safe enough to let go. It felt fantastic. He barely remembered Aladdin finding the lamp. Naturally, all he could think about was the hands in his hair and caressing his feet. He’d have to remember to call Dr. Marlene later. 

As soon as Bucky and Steve realized how content Tony was, that the Omega was bare-winged and sleeping, that he was fucking purring, they melted. Although it still irritated them that they couldn’t detect the scent Tony had been developing over the past days, a heady mixture of orange blossoms and happiness that Steve could get high off of, this was still wonderful. Having a lap full of the delicious little Omega made the two Alphas vibrate in joy. Bucky barely watched the movie at all; all he was doing was watching Tony’s chest rise and fall in peacefulness. 

Steve only watched about a fourth of it. 

When it finally ended, it was later then the Flock was used to, so cleanup was postponed to the next day. Thor quickly and quietly padded out of the room, Clint and Natasha tried to get into their beds faster than the other via air ducts or secret passageways, and Bruce stroked Tony’s wings and slipped away. Steve, who had been trying to control his pheromone burst from the better part of an hour, slid out from under Tony’s head and left him in Bucky’s care, tiptoeing out to get some water. Bucky, who was silently thrilled to have Tony to himself for a second, easily lifted the Omega up and laid him against his chest, cozy from the Omega’s high body temperature. 

When he was moved, Tony twitched a bit, then lifted his head and blinked at Bucky, who gave him a soft yet still suggestive smirk. Tony grinned back, a tad delirious, and simply rested his head down on Bucky’s very well defined pecs. He traced a slow, gentle palm down the Alpha’s abdomen, caressing the muscles beneath his thin nightshirt, and shivered when said Alpha rumbled in response. Tony felt the vibrations along the entire expanse of where he and Bucky were touching. He rather liked it. So he did it again. And boy, did Bucky’s scent spike. The burning-pine-wood rose until Tony felt like he was in a secluded cabin in the woods. It was warm and cozy while still being crackling, blinding, and it made Tony snuggle closer. 

If he was acting because of drowsiness before, he was high on Alpha pheromones now. He snuck a glance at Bucky’s wings—they were raised, flared, and quivering, and Tony could only imagine that his looked the same way. 

He could feel Bucky’s breath on his neck, felt the Alpha’s nose trace up from his shoulder to the hollow behind his ear, and Tony exhaled heavily. This was very, very nice. He turned and rubbed his cheek against Bucky’s, purring quietly, and Bucky was having issues trying to not just roll the Omega beneath him, kiss him breathless, and worship him. His hands were tracing lower and lower down Tony’s back, and the Omega was nearly squirming. Drowning in this feeling of safety, Tony’s guard was down. Like, completely down. As in there was no one overlooking the castle right now. Tony was nearly ready to turn his head to give Bucky a cautious kiss…

And Steve walked in. 

The moment Tony spotted Steve standing in the middle of the space between the kitchen and the living room, the Flock Alpha’s scent deepening and seeping in Tony’s sensitive nostrils, he froze, his hand becoming stagnant just above the blue-green-winged Alpha’s navel. Bucky noticed almost immediately and furrowed his brow at Tony, who whipped his head away when he saw how blown Bucky’s pupils were. 

The Alpha rumbled in concern, but it was then that he picked up the scent of a second Alpha. Citrus and leather and the rush of a motorcycle ride. Steve. Wings bristling at what felt like an invasion, he turned his head, a growl beginning in his throat, but Tony pushed off of him and stood up, which got Bucky’s attention instantly. A hand closed around Tony’s wrist, but Bucky’s grip was sloppy from the—ahem—activities. Tony yanked and was free again.

Once released, Tony just watched Steve’s eyes follow him as he took a few more steps back. One super-soldier Alpha, he could handle. Maybe one and a half if he was feeling adventurous. But two? Two robust, adult, dangerously gorgeous Alphas with powerful wings and intoxicating scents that Tony may or may not jerk himself off to later? Together, they would unravel him, and the thought alone had him loopy with lust and frozen in fear. 

They wouldn’t like him. He was old and creaky and scarred up. He was a mental mess. He could barely feed himself some days. How could they find that even remotely attractive?

So caught up in digging his own grave, Tony almost didn’t register the words being spoken to him. 

“—ony? Tony? Hey, Tony?” It was Bucky. 

Tony blinked and flinched when he realized that Bucky just kind of moved from the couch to right into front of him. A gentle hand was on his forearm, existing only as a comfort. His scent was calm, wings were low. And, for some reason, this shocked Tony. 

“Wha-what?” Tony stammered.

“Are you okay, doll? You just kinda skittered away from me.” And oh, that was a bit of a Brooklyn accent coming through. Tony shivered. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that, um, having both of you in the, uh, in the room at once is a bit overwhelming,” he stuttered, trying to resist the urge to curl into Bucky again. He reiterated the idea in his head that one of the most dangerous men that had ever existed in human history shouldn’t be allowed to look so fucking angelic, so honest and concerned. All things Tony had issues being. 

Obviously, Bucky and the Winter Soldier only shared a body, but that didn’t mean that Bucky wasn’t able to kill someone with a toothpick. 

Steve walked slowly up behind the other Alpha, peeking over his shoulder and giving Tony a soft smile. “I’m sorry, Tony. I didn’t know that my presence would cause you so much discomfort.” He reached around Bucky and gave Tony’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

“No, no, really, it’s fine. I had no idea that I’d react like that either, so please, don’t beat yourself up about it,” Tony said, trying in convince Steve to wipe the sad puppy look from his face. “I just… more adjustment. But believe me, that was nice,” Tony finished, voice low and eyes suggestive. Bucky’s grin said all Tony needed to hear. 

Steve just smirked and leaned in closer, until he was making undisturbed eye contact with the Omega in front of him. “I hope so,” Steve whispered, so quiet Tony could barely hear it. “‘Cause I think you’re going to find yourself alone with Bucky a little more often from this point onward.”

Tony barely had time to blush before Steve pecked him on the nose and was out of there, leaving the breath of citrus and leather behind. 

Tony looked back at Bucky. Bucky stared back. 

“I’ll wait,” Bucky said sensuously, low and delicious. “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

Tony’s wings quivered. “That means more than you would ever know.” Great, he thought to himself. I’m becoming as sappy as Clint. 

Then Bucky’s face changed. It became softer, yet full of determination and concentration. Time slowed down. Bucky’s face moved. His icy blue eyes darted from Tony’s brown ones to his lips, lingered, and glanced back up. Tony wanted to reacted, to nod, to do something, but he was entranced, held down by the Alpha’s passionate stare. 

When Tony felt Bucky’s breath ghost his upper lip, he couldn’t take it. He moved himself. Everything in Tony’s brain went from “this could be a bad idea,” to “oh, fuck it!” He tilted up and pressed into Bucky, melding their lips together, and felt Bucky exhale. His lips were so soft and plush, like he was kissing smooth marshmallows, and Tony was floating. At least, he would’ve been if Bucky hadn’t wrapped his arms around him and held him tight, fingers pressing into his ribcage and making Tony’s heart stutter. 

Tony’s own hands were around Bucky’s neck, some of the Alpha’s hair twisted around his fingers. His wings were fluttering at the tips, flashing and showing sensitive under-feathers. Bucky was rumbling again. 

Tony pulled away to gulp some air, and Bucky chased his mouth, taking advantage of Tony’s breath to trace his tongue against the Omega’s. Tony whimpered in surprise and delight, but Bucky took it as a sound of alarm and pulled away immediately.

Tony whined, but didn’t go after him, and stood there, breathing, gazing into Bucky’s eyes. The scent had spiked again, and as much as Tony wanted this to continue, it was almost midnight and he had things to get done before 4:00 am. So, instead of a kiss, Tony gave Bucky a humongous hug.

“Thanks, Ironfist,” Tony murmured into the other man’s neck. 

Bucky squeezed him in return. “Anytime, Metalhead.”

Tony giggled, and the two pulled away, kissed one last time, and then Tony scampered away to his workshop, mind racing for a reason other than a night full of equations. 

Bucky just stood there for a moment, reevaluating his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, did you enjoy it?!
> 
> And don't worry your little faces, I have many ideas concerning Bucky and Steve and Tony and lots of bodies touching. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT, MOTHERFUCKERS!
> 
> *guzzles chai tea* *writes next chapter*
> 
> Next update in a couple hours!


	25. Kaleidoscope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *rubs hands together evilly*

Tony spent most of the early morning doing data downloads and system recalibration, but he found it difficult to do so when he was even remotely thinking of Bucky. It had led to a few mismatched, minor injuries. 

Around 6:30am, Tony was dozing off and ready to sleep, just one more fucking screw…

And that’s how Pepper found him at two o’clock in the afternoon, sprawled out with wrench in hand, wings completely out and relaxed. 

Pepper smiled at Tony the same she always did, with care, concern, and too much love to put into words. She didn’t want to disturb was seemed to be a peaceful sleep, but she also knew that Tony would verbally destroy her for leaving him there in such an awkward position that surely would hurt his back. She leaned froward and shook his shoulder, rousing him, and he groaned at her. 

“I know, Tony. But your back will murder you if you don’t move.”

“But I was having such a good sleep…” Tony mumbled. 

Pepper merely rolled her eyes, her wings flaring in exasperation. “Come on, Tonton. You need a bed.”

Tony only groaned again. It was when Pepper reached over, picked up and began to carry him that Tony became animated. 

“Virginia Potts, you put me down right this instant!” he hollered, his wings smacking her in the face. 

Pepper laughed and set him down, chuckling when he glared at her. “Hey, as long as it works.”

She still escorted him to his private room. In his own mind, Tony very briefly wondered if Steve would be opposed to nap with him, but he shook those thoughts away quickly. They wouldn’t help him sleep, and he was still a fairly broken soul in any case. The emotions must have shown in his wings, though, because Pepper put a considerate hand on his bare wing. 

“Hey, you okay?” she asked quietly. 

Tony nodded. “Yeah, just tired.”

Pepper gave him that look that told him she didn’t really believe him but way going to let him believe himself. “Okay, then.” She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick squeeze. “Rest well.”

Tony yawned. “Yes, Mom,” he sassed. He sass never let him down. 

Pepper pulled away and smiled at him genuinely, but Tony looked to the floor. He was too tired to do feelings right now. 

“Goodnight, Tony,” Pepper said, wings caressing his comfortingly. 

Tony was about to reply when a strong breeze whooshed behind him, tinted with faint hints of greenish yellow. Tony’s stomach dropped, and Pepper growled as menacingly as she could. But Tony had this sinking feeling that it was useless. He just kind of knew who was standing behind him, even if the scent of dark woods and cold stone wasn’t there. 

“JARVIS, emergency procedures, please,” he whispered. When JARVIS didn’t reply, Tony knew he heard him. The cameras were on now and being fed to the Avengers own security feed. He would have sent it to general security, but he had his wings out. Oh, he was immensely screwed. 

He turned to face the man behind him, his face hardening, and kicked his sass up to level ten. 

“Still creeping around, Reindeer Games? I thought you’d know better than to come into Avengers Tower to be an asshole.” Tony grinned internally. Nailed it!

But Loki only grinned back at him. “Well, there’s only some much I can do outside of Midgard.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Come on, that can’t be true.”

“Oh, but it is. That aside, this is definitely a new development. The feared Ironman is really a sniveling, whimpering Omega. What a twist.” The deadly mischief in Loki’s eyes only made Tony’s stomach drop farther. Pepper moved to attack him, but Tony put an arm out, a silent “that’s not going to work,” and Pepper stopped, even if her scent was souring the room and her growling never ceased. 

“What? Just astonished that an Omega kicked your ass?” Tony shot back. His wings were completely bristled, defensive, and Pepper’s were miles high behind her. Tony had to admit that it did feel nice to be as protected as he could be. 

Loki’s face darkened. “Pride is only part of it. I did warn you, Anthony, and you didn’t listen. So not only are you weak, you are quite stupid.”

Tony rolled his eyes again. “Wrong again, Green Giant.”

And suddenly, Loki was directly in front to him, starting him down, and Tony immediately felt that five inch difference. Loki now looked demonic. “I’m hardly ever wrong.” A pause. “Your ragtag group’s mistakes have only ended in their failure.”

And Pepper lunged. “Enough!” she screamed, and sprang forward to wrestle Loki to the ground. The speed at which he dodged was inhuman. Crashing to the floor, Pepper groaned in pain, and Tony saw the blood seeping from a laceration on her forehead. He moved to help her, but a hand closed around his neck. He was lifted until he was at eye level with the God of Chaos, the lack of oxygen making him panic. No, not this, again. Not another kidnapping. One of those was enough to last a lifetime. He thrashed, but the hand never moved. Loki had him good.

He began to drift, Loki’s hand tightening, his laugh rising ever louder, but, above the sound, Tony heard his door opening, and the scent of his team flooded into the room. Steve, he saw Steve, wings up and dangerous, and everyone behind him looking exactly the same, the scent of anger so potent even Loki cringed for a split second. Tony felt proud. His team was here, trying to protect him. Like he was worth something. 

Steve opened his mouth, but Loki cut him off with a very deep, chuckle. “A bit too late, Captain.”

And with that, Tony’s vision was swamped with a kaleidoscope of greens and yellows, and as the world melted around him, Tony just prayed that the tracking device in his arc reactor would hold through. 

Meanwhile, Bucky just stood there for a moment, reevaluating his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're welcome.


	26. White Rooms and Building Tombs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony feels as though this kidnapping is cliché. That is, until, his Flock becomes endangered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. Here. Take this from me. 
> 
> Yes, I was gone forever. Yes, I'm a bitch. Yes, I'm evil. Now let's get on with it!

Tony couldn’t really freak out; it was one of those things where the human brain responded to traumatic events by zoning out and not processing actions. But he knew this. Therefore, when he came to in a very cliche white room with a one glass wall, he actually rolled his eyes. I mean, come on. There was cliche, and there was insult to his intelligence. But, then again, there was only so much he could expect from the God of Chaos. 

He glanced around and scanned for anything that would signal weapons or an escape of any kind, but all he got was a pounding headache and a head-rush that caused him to remain on the ground. As his bare wings shivered in anxiety, he blinked heavily, trying to take the cotton out of his skull and dull the ringing in his ears. He evaluated himself, noting that he still had the clothes that he was kidnapped in—his Natasha voice called Loki lazy and not thorough—and had sustained no major injuries. Thank God for that. 

In his cell, there was only a bottle of water, sitting suspiciously in the middle of the floor. Tony eyeballed it, the scooted closer as slow as he could, trying to feel for traps. As the smoothness of the floor stayed solid and consistent, Tony’s guard toward this particular water bottle lowered. He lunged for it, uncapped it, and swallowed it in a manner of seconds. Once he didn’t feel like he was about to pass out, Tony stood and stretched himself as far as he could, trying adamantly to not have a panic attack. Being alive right now most likely meant that Loki would be coming back for him. Until then, all Tony could do was wait and try to not flash back. 

* * *

To say that shit hit the fan after Loki disappeared with the Flock’s cherished, loved Omega would be a devastating understatement. 

In the silence that followed the few seconds after the green and gold sparkles vanished, shock, fear, anger, and the want to protect filled the room in a tidal wave of scent and sound. Natasha growled so deep that the walls shook, Thor was merely trying not to destroy the nearest building, and both Steve and Bucky released a roar so powerful and loud that Clint was sure the city heard them. 

The thunderstorm and forceful rain that followed surprised no one. 

Once the situation was addressed within the group, Natasha took Pepper, who was barely responding to Bruce’s gentle coaxing, to medical immediately. But she practically had to chase some of the doctors down in order to speak with them; no one wanted to talk to the red-headed Alpha who smelt and looked ready to drink that blood of any who crossed her. But one of the head doctors, Dr. Laurel—a very calm and wise Beta—ushered Pepper into her care without a second thought. 

The “thank you” Natasha blessed her with was completely genuine. 

Before she even stepped into the common room, Natasha could tell that Steve was talking to Fury, Bucky was cuddling Bruce, Thor was standing in a corner fuming, and Clint was nowhere to be found. The stiffness in her wings was echoed throughout the entire space, and her scent of anger and fear only added potency to the room’s emotions. 

“I know, Fury. But I can’t tell you how. Yes, yes I get it. Understood. Yes. Okay, just hurry it up!” The StarkPhone in Steve’s hand was about to be crushed from Steve’s frustration. And even if that wasn’t enough, the longer Steve remained on the phone, the higher and sharper his wings became until they were straight as a board and his feathers were as pointed as knifes. In the depths of her heart, 

Natasha felt sorry for everyone involved in this kidnapping. Especially Loki. 

“JARVIS, any luck so far?” Bruce pipped up from under Bucky’s flesh arm. 

“I’m sorry, Dr. Banner, but this process will take more than a couple hours. Sir has designed it to take several days, perhaps a week, to decode. I will do the best I can.”

“Thank you, JARVIS,” Bruce sniffled, the thickness of his sorrow coating him in the most watery scent. 

As a emergency protocol, JARVIS was searching for Tony’s tracking device, but Tony had made it incredibly difficult to find incase of scrambling or alterations that would lead whoever looking for him into traps, torture, or death. Tony called it genius, Bucky called it unnecessary, Steve called it dangerous, and Natasha rolled her eyes because she believed that there was no way that Tony would be taken in the way he was. They were all wiser now. But what Natasha feared at this point wasn’t the teams inability to find him. 

It was the state Tony would be in when they did. 

She knew Tony. She read his file backwards and forwards, and then in French to refresh her memory. She knew his backstory, the way he was treated, how he lived his life before being Ironman. 

But whatever she had read in his file was nothing compared to what he had told her himself, and the red-wing-tipped woman could only hope that Tony could pull through by himself this one last time. If he did, Natasha made a promise that she would never let him go through anything like this again. 

But for now, all she could do was wait. 

* * *

Tony was going crazy. It had to have been days since he’d changed clothes, he’d barely slept, he’d had to use the bathroom in a hole in the floor that only appeared when he asked for it, and food materialized when he wasn’t looking, which was beyond weird. But perhaps the worst of all was that he could feel it. The approach. The few days before he was subjected to the needs of biology. And here he was, caged and pacing like an animal in a zoo. Isolation chambers were not his friend. 

He hoped his tracker was still active. 

Chasing off boredom was hard where there was nothing for Tony to manipulate with his hands like he was used to. He sang every song he knew, he tapped the walls, he groomed his feathers, he traced equations, he thought about new inventions. He dreamt of his team. He focused on keeping his heart beating and his lungs breathing. He meditated and did the bit of tai chi that he knew. It was almost centering, considering the circumstances. 

And, of course, it had to end. 

One fateful day, Tony woke up with a crick in his very bare, matted, azure wings, and he sighed. “Damn things always making my life miserable,” he murmured. He reached up to massage it, but a figure caught his eye form behind the glass wall. A man with green, gold-tipped wings and a smile the Cheshire Cat would be proud of was standing in front of him, and, like the little shit he was, Tony waved with a nonchalant smile on his face. He had to play the part of unaffected. He couldn’t hide his wings or his gender now, so he was going to ignore them, like he did everything else that bothered him. He would not reveal emotion to this monster of a god. He channeled his inner Natasha and did his best version of aloof. 

The scowl that followed his smile was just as much satisfying as it was terrifying. Good job, Tony. “Don’t piss off your captor” is Hostage Rule #1, idiot. 

“Good to see that you’re still alive, Anthony,” Loki said, eyes narrowed and wings low. 

Tony grinned. “Every day above ground is a good one, if I do say so myself.”

“Hm, is that so? Well, I’m sorry to inform you that there have been some developments.”

Tony’s stomach dropped. “Oh, really?” he said as flatly as possible. 

And the feral smile was back. “Yes, really. I’ve grown impatient with your team and I’ve changed tactics, so we’re going to be switching locations.”

Tony’s heart stopped. “L-locations?”

“Why, yes, my dear Omega. I think we’d better start putting that your team’s tracking abilities to good use, don’t you?”

No, not the team! Tony’s hindbrain screamed. Not the Flock!

“What exactly are you planning to pull here, Reindeer Games?” Tony couldn’t keep the emotion, the fear, the blatant fury out of his voice. 

Loki only chuckled. “Placing a trap. But you knew that, didn’t you, breeder?”

“I’m not a fucking breeder!” Tony shrieked. No. No way. He had fought too long and too hard to still be labeled like that. He was more. He had to be more. Right?

“Oh, but you are.” Loki leaned in closer to the glass. “And I’d hope they find you before anyone else does.”

And before Tony could cuss him out, the Green Giggler disappeared. 

For once in his life, Tony’s head did a 180 turn. No, he thought. Please don’t find me. Don’t fall into his clutches. Don’t want me. Don’t come for me. 

Don’t pick me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You like? You don't like? 
> 
> *sips chai* *glances at clock* *sighs heavily* 
> 
> It was a tad short, but this is purposeful. 
> 
> LEAVE LOVE!


	27. Woodland Wars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Moose-induced trance." 
> 
> That is all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's not dead!

Bruce was losing his mind, mostly because of Tony's kidnapping, but also because everybody else was losing their minds. He and Clint, as the Betas in the Flock, had been trying to keep the Alphas from imploding on themselves while searching for Tony. The constant comforting—the verbal reassurance, the wing-grooming (especially for Steve), and making them all eat something (Natasha was almost as bad as Tony when it came to feeding herself)—had Bruce exhausted. But, despite this, he couldn't just stop. He refused to let Clint do it all by himself. And it killed him to see his Alphas in so much pain. It's fine, Bruce would tell himself. As long as I get meditations in the evening, I'll be fine. 

In order to keep conflict within the Flock to a minimum, Fury had occasionally sent Steve, Natasha, and Bucky out to do some minor crime monitoring in hopes that it would allow them to release their frustration. But getting them to do so was harder than pulling teeth. Each one of them wanted to stay in the Tower, with their Betas, and wait for JARVIS to finally, finally get a signal or a sign or something that would bring Tony home. 

In the mean time, Steve was well on his way to breaking his punching bag record. 

The unrelenting scent of fear and anger and worry had everyone on edge, all of the time, and Clint had reason to believe that Natasha was having night-terrors again, much like she had when they were Siberia together. The past three nights, he had been creeping into her bedroom and curling up next to her, wrapping his wings around her and feeling her relax, only to be awoken by her fevered twitching and pained groans and scent hot in fear. He would run his fingers through her hair, rub her back, anything to calm her down; it would take minutes before she would again become serene. If she knew he'd been comforting her, she made no indication. 

Steve had been holding together the best he could, obsessively monitoring JARVIS's tracking progress while simultaneously trying to act normal; however, Bruce knew that Steve was hardly sleeping, and he could barely coax the white-winged man into an uneasy slumber when he groomed the Alpha's continually rigid feathers. It pained him to watch his Head Alpha bury his feelings and force himself to think for the Flock instead of admitting he needed comfort. It wasn't until Steve began snapping at people and flaring sharpened, tense feathers that Bruce—with Thor's help—insisted that Steve let himself be cared for.

Strangely enough, Bucky and Thor had been finding some semblance of comfort in each other. Being Alphas, they weren't exactly super cuddly with one another, but they were never separated by more than ten feet. Thor either had a hand on Bucky's wrist or in his feathers, and if Thor wasn't touching Bucky, Bucky was touching Thor by pressing their knees together or twirling a strand of golden locks between his fingers. It would have been sweet if the circumstances were different—completely and totally different. 

Needless to say, the Flock was a mess. 

Days turned into almost a week, then into almost two. No trace of Tony was popping up, not even a false lead—which Steve didn't even know if he could survive—and the tension was rising as the hours slipped away. Fury was ready to call off the search and start nudging the Flock to maybe consider accepting that Tony was… 

Gone. 

Upon hearing that suggestion, Natasha had quickly destroyed the phone out of which Fury had been speaking. 

How dare he? How dare he even consider the idea? They were going to find Tony. No matter what it took. 

* * *

Tony only vaguely remembered being administered a knockout drug of some kind—the soreness in his right arm was evidence of that. Now, all he felt was a sharp cold dotting his face while being simultaneously surrounding by a dull chill. Something even colder, harder, unmoving was clenched around his wrists: chains—perfect. As he reluctantly opened his eyes, muted whiteness met him. A thin layer of frozen melting into his dirty jeans sent fear spiking through the Omega's body. What the hell? Snow? Why is there sn—?

"Ah, I see you're awake, finally," said an all-too-familiar voice. 

Tony gritted his teeth, avoiding Loki's eyes. "Where the fuck am I? My bet is the Alps."

Loki only snickered, his wings flaring up. "You are indeed back on Earth, little Omega, but where is only for me and your Flock to know."

"What makes you so sure that they'll find me?" Tony countered, wings dropping a little. That is, not that I particularly want them to, he thought. 

Loki's smirk deepened, his stony scent encircling Tony like a predator. "You think that I'm just as dumb-witted as you are. I've been around for some time, breeder. I know a tracker when I see one."

Tony's stomach dropped. He even forgot that Loki had called him a fucking breeder again. 

"Wha—? What tracker?" Tony stammered, trying to play dumb, even as his heart began to thunder. 

"Oh, stop it!" Loki hollered, kneeing Tony in the ribs, the clang of chains echoing through the air. "I've seen you switch into your armor. It was a simple conclusion to make that that glowing orb in your chest sends some sort of signal. And your Alphas will stop at nothing to track you down. It's only a matter of time."

Tony hacked once and gasped for breath. "And how sure are you about that, Elsa?"

"Oh, quite sure, I'm afraid," Loki murmured, voice dropping several octaves and stiffening his forest-y feathers. "And I'll be ready for them."

Tony wanted to retort, to discourage the gold-tip-winged asshole, assure him that he was mistaken, that no one was coming for him. But, right then, Loki dissolved, and Tony was left alone, chained to a goddamn tree in the middle of the goddamn snowy mountains in God knows where. He tugged against the chains, the desire to cry welling up in his eyes, a buried want to be saved enclosing him. He knew there was no way he could save himself this time. 

Even still, he prayed for his Flock to not find him. This might be the last straw for them; they might finally realize that loving Tony was coupled with a ridiculous amount of risk and disappointment and fear, a combination that kept him single for years and prevented him from ever letting anyone get too close in fear of hurting them. 

He'd rather die here, surrounding by emotionless snow and indifferent trees, than put the only true family he'd ever had through more pain. 

He felt a large snowflake rest delicately on his nose, a cold, wet kiss from the sky, and Tony smiled. He looked around, taking note of the beautiful landscape, and wondered what he did to deserve being held as bait in such gorgeous scenery. 

* * *

It was 1:37 in the morning when JARVIS pinged in a way that Steve was not familiar with. The sound caused his heart to skip a beat or two, but he refused to build his hope too high—he knew that he would never really know all of JARVIS's sounds. He unwrapped himself from Bruce's hold, careful not to wake the Beta, and walked into the info deck. 

"What is it, JARVIS?" Steve mumbled, itching at his ruffled feathers. 

"I have located Sir, Captain Rogers," the AI said coolly.

Steve's heart stopped; his eyes widened.

"A-Are you sure, JARVIS?" the Alpha said with a voice so fragile that a brush of a feather could break it. 

"I am, Captain. I've tracked him down to Kebnekaise."

Steve furrowed his brow. "What?"

"Kebnekaise, a mountain in Northern Sweden," JARVIS replied, pulling up images of the beautiful crags where Tony supposedly was. 

"Alright, then. Thank you, JARVIS. Alert Fury and tell him to ready the QuinJet. Make sure to give him the coordinates."

"Right away, Captain," JARVIS confirmed…

But Steve was already out of the room and barreling down the hall at full speed. The Alpha went to Bruce first, gently nudging him awake despite his adrenaline and nervous excitement. When the speckle-winged Beta begrudgingly opened his eyes, he was, at first, groggy and confused. 

"W-what? What is it, Steve?" Bruce mumbled. 

"We found him. We found Tony," Steve said quickly, watching Bruce's brown eyes go from unfocused to intent and alert. 

"Really?" he asked, voice watery and wings fluttering. 

Steve nodded. "Really. I'm going to wake the others. Be ready to leave in 15 minutes." It wasn't quite an Alpha command, but it didn't matter; Bruce would have moved at the same speed if Steve had whispered this information sweetly into his ear. 

As Bruce ran to get clothed, Steve darted off the landing platform and to the next floor up, not minding the chilly September air. He saw Natasha sitting at her kitchenette, staring out the window and into the luminescence of New York, nursing a cup of tea, wings low and drooped. 

The second Steve thudded onto the concrete floor, Natasha perked up. She eyed him quizzically, wondering what Steve was doing at this hour, but scents of hope and adrenaline and excitement and anxiety and determination poured from Steve in waves, and Natasha knew almost on an instinctual level what was happening. The look of shock and hope in her forest-y eyes and immediate raise of her dark wings shattered Steve a little bit—so much pain could be eradicated so soon. He could only beg to God that it was not in vain. 

All he had to do was nod, and Natasha was racing to get on her battle gear. 

"We leave in 14!" he called out before leaping off the landing platform a second time. 

Next was Thor and possibly Bucky—if those two were sleeping the same room for the fifth night in a row. Steve soared up two more floors and didn't even bother knocking before calling for the two other Alphas. Steve turned a corner and saw Bucky in the hallway, running his hands through his bedhead. He squinted at Steve, his blue eyes clouded with sleep and bewilderment. 

"Stevie? What in the hell are you—?"

"It's Tony. We found him, Buck. We found him," Steve said.

Watching Bucky go from inattentive and almost relaxed to ready to hunt and protect was terrifying, even to Steve. Observing the tensing of his muscles and the stiffening of his wings and gazing as the blue-green feathers prickled and became shrouded in shadow made Bucky look like the Angel of Death. 

And, in a voice gravelly from sleep and determination, Bucky growled. "Let's get our Omega."

And boy, did that fill Steve with pride. The Flock Alpha grinned. "Please wake Thor. We leave in 13."

Bucky nodded before disappearing into the dark corners of the apartment, transforming from man into weapon as he mentally prepared for the retrieval of a family member.

Finished with alerting the flock—and aware that Clint would inevitably be roused by Nat—Steve rushed into his room, tugged off his sweatpants, and yanked on his uniform. The more seconds passed by, the more pumped and desire to save, to guard, to protect what was his, the Flock's, prized Omega built in the Alpha, leaving him rumbling in his chest, low and dangerous. 

Loki had no idea what was coming. 

Finishing with his preparation, Steve raced up to the landing dock on the roof of Avengers Tower and waited for his team to gather. The Quinjet was already prepared and running—all it needed was to take off. 

Thor, Bruce, and Bucky all appeared within seconds of each other. Thor was decked out in all of his Asgardian glory and armor, Mjolnir at his side. Bucky was completely suited up, his eyes covered in a smear of dark paint, his metal arm whirring as he clenched his fist. Bruce was wearing a sweater and warm jeans, but he was definitely looking a little green around the edges. 

Clint and Natasha appear as one, not even stopping to receive confirmation; they simply glided past and into the QuinJet's cockpit. 

Natasha looked out into the group, eyes hard and sharp. "Takeoff in 30 seconds! Get your asses in here!"

No one needed to be told twice. 

* * *

The temperature continued to drop. Tony had long since wrapped his wings around his body, feathers vibrating as he tried to keep warm, and it was working for the time being. Tony struggled to remember what month it was—September, maybe?—and tried to think of any way to escape. Hours were passing. The sun was almost setting. Tony was running out of energy. Somehow, Tony thought that he would go out in a more…dramatic way. Like falling from the sky, or being selflessly blown up to save a nation. But no, he was going to die from hypothermia and not be found for years, and then be unidentifiable for some times due to being scavenged by wild animals. Not the best options. 

As Tony sat contemplating, a slight stepping could be heard from his left ear. Terrified that maybe the wild animals in the forest might cut out the middle man and simply eat him, Tony glanced around frantically, searching for the approaching creature. 

A hoof appeared in his peripheral vision. 

Tony whipped his head around to see a large moose gracefully tiptoeing his way through the forest. Tony took a breath—as far as he knew, moose were not carnivorous—and watched the long-legged beast nuzzle the ground. At one point, the moose diverted his deep brown eyes to observe Tony, assessing him, and Tony felt oddly exposed. It only lasted a quick moment. 

Suddenly, the muffled roar of engines trailed over Tony's head, jerking him out of his moose-induced trance and causing the creature in question to lope away. For a split second, Tony dared to hope that it could have been his team coming to rescue him—no matter how much his pride sniffled at the thought. 

But it happened again.

Then a third time. 

And then he saw white, green-blue, and bright gold flashes of color through the trees. 

Tony shook his head, convinced that he was hallucinating. There was no way. But, all the same, Tony unfurled his peacock blue wings, letting his unfiltered scent waft through the trees, coaxing the inklings of color closer. He didn't want to use his voice, really; he hoped that Loki would be a bit more oblivious if Tony didn't give signs of possible escape. His feathers began to vibrate as shapes began to emerge from the fogginess of trees. They were all moving cautiously, obviously searching and scanning each individual tree. 

Tony saw the moment that each Alpha caught his scent, and the first humanoid figure to come into focus was a tall, blond man wielding a hammer. Thor. 

Tony almost cried. 

They came for him. 

Each Alpha drew closer, wings held high and dangerous like the weapons they were. The winter Soldier and Captain America in particular looked prepared to commit murder. Seeing Tony bound to an unforgiving tree in frosty conditions had angered the Alphas beyond words, and this intentness had given them slight tunnel vision. Thor, however, was grim-faced and extremely alert, the knowledge that it was his brother the team was about to face keeping his eyes open for traps and triggers. 

A single noise that seemed out of place had Thor whipping his head around and staring into the deep, green eyes of one Green Giggler.

Thor rumbled, signaling the others to the offending Alpha's presence, and each Alpha turned to oppose the trickster. "Now, Loki, you've committed some serious crimes, but this is one that will not be taken lightly. You've removed a beloved Omega from his pack. This will bring great consequence." Thor's normally light eyes were the color of an angry sea. 

Loki smirked, wings flared yet arrogantly relaxed. "Ah, yes, I know the Pack Laws, dear brother. But I only used your breeder to ensure your destruction. And now, just as I planned, I have the Avengers here, ready to be sent straight to Hel."

The Winter Soldier's wings were becoming more and more rigid as the conversation dragged on, trying to remain still, but his hackles were rising. This wasn't right. Loki isn't one to talk this much. He was distracting them. A trick.

A trap. 

The trees began to shudder as the chilled air shifted. The Soldier huffed as his eyes darkened, going from blue to black in an instant, and Captain America planted his feet, preparing to strike. The ground vibrates, the dirt becoming loose and rocks lifting up from their impression in the soil. Roots that were not initially seen tore up from the ground, needles raining down with the snow. 

The forest began to move.

Thor barely dodged a huge branch that was obviously meant for him, only to look back and see that Loki had vanished with a manic peel of laughter. The Soldier, terrified for what the shifting trees might do to his little Omega, sprinted the considerable distance to the tree to which Tony was chained. Tony whimpered as the Alpha examined the chain and simply peeled the links apart, freeing him. 

Grabbing the Omega a tad tighter than necessary, The Soldier tugged Tony back across the distance to where Natasha had landed the Jet, but each tree that the two tried to pass crashed in front of them, stopping them, giving Tony a heart attack every time he felt the breeze of thousands of pounds of wood swoosh past them and creating a crunch and boom that was louder than the last. 

Captain America was back-to-back with Thor, looking around for Loki, who was teasing them with little flashes of himself from between cracks in the forest. Thor was gripping Mjolnir with white knuckles, face clenched in irate concentration.

"You wish you could save him, don't you?" Loki whispered into Thor's ear. 

The Captain and Thor whipped around, only to be met with emptiness. 

"You wouldn't know, Loki, how it feels. Maybe that's why you did it, huh?" the white-winged Alpha taunted. 

Thor's brows furrowed. "Captain, what are you—?"

"What are you talking about?" Loki's disembodied voice asked, cutting off the God of Thunder. 

The Captain smirked. "You only wish you had an Omega to keep you sane."

"You're more delusional than I thought, Captain." There might have been humor in Loki's voice, but it wavered a bit. 

Captain American kept poking. "His presence makes us stronger, Loki. We have something to fight for. You only have yourself to fight for. So pitiful."

"How dare you call me pitiful, you mortal?" Loki boomed, suddenly materializing directly behind the Captain, reaching for his neck, fury painted on his sharp face. 

Thor, seeing his opportunity, swung with all his might, hitting the trickster square in the chest. Loki teetered for a moment, the landed with a soft plop on the soft ground. A high-pitched wheeze blew from Loki's mouth, the air knocked out of him. 

Thor loomed over his brother, mumbling for a moment in his native Asgardian tongue. He turned to look at his Alpha partner who was gazing at him in awe. 

"I'm taking him back to Asgard. He must answer for his crimes," Thor said, regret lacing his deep rumble. 

The Captain nodded. "I'll tell Tony. Take care, Thor."

And, in a flash if blinding light, Thor and his brother disappeared, leaving Thor's usual Celtic seal on the ground. 

The trees around Steve continued to shift and fall, still managing to land right in front of him and threatening to crush him. He saw Tony and The Soldier a few paces ahead of him, making their way to the Jet. The Captain changed his direction, meeting the pair as they kept dodging the falling branches. Tony is dazed, eyes glazed over, obviously in slight shock, and all the Alphas could focus on was getting their Omega to safety. 

Once the QuinJet came into focus, the Alphas moved a bit quicker. Natasha began to lift off the moment The Soldier shut the cabin door behind him—everyone was more than ready to get out of fucking Sweden and back to the fucking Tower so they could comfort not only themselves, but, more importantly, their rescued Omega.

Tony, now sheltered in Bruce's and Steve's arms, finally seemed a bit more clear-headed. He looked around, his face confused, and looked innocently into Steve's ocean-deep eyes. 

"Where's Thor?" Tony murmurs. 

Steve nuzzles Tony's cheek. "He's fine, baby, he's fine. He's giving Loki his just desserts."

Tony didn't know he was crying until Bruce thumbed the tears away. He was being hushed, cuddled, held tightly, comforted for the first time in what felt like ages, and he wasn't ready to face reality just yet. All that mattered was the arms encircling him and the scents calming him. 

And if he felt little warm droplets dampening his dirtied shirt, who was he to judge?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, ending was a bit rushed. Sorry bout that. 
> 
> There will be SO MANY CUDDLES after this chapter, I swear. I'm done putting Tony through emotional trauma. Only love from now on. 
> 
> Get ready, fuckers! Time to take the train to Cuddletown!


	28. Initiate Tone Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets back safely, but something else is building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everybody. New chapter, but also, just some things I've noticed... 
> 
> So, enough people have mentioned that what I say and what I show are different, or that the Alphas in the Flock are patronizing and uncaring, or that the Flock ignores Tony's wishes. It was never my intention to give this idea without obvious reasons or clear explanations.
> 
> But, since I have gotten several comments like this in the past couple chapters, I'm going to do a little story reflection and change the ambiance a bit. It hurts when I feel that my readers aren't enjoying my story, so I will do what I can to make compromises and improve the story.
> 
> But do keep this in mind: I am a young writer, and this is my first ever story. It's going to have inconsistencies, weirdness, and discontinuity. I will try to keep it consistent as best I can, but this story is not perfect. If this story bugs you, don't leave nasty comments about how you hate it or that it's super sexist or stupid. Honestly, it hurts. I've put a lot of time and effort into these characters and this story. Please respect that. 
> 
> ANYWHOOZIES, NEW CHAPTER! Please stay tuned! I'm going to (try to) make it better!

The ride all the way back to New York was filled with relived silence, thick and encompassing and comforting. Each flockmate was within touching distance of at least one other person, and it wove a web of security that Bruce and Tony were benefitting from. The calmness and solace emanating from the Beta had Tony's heart rate low and steady. At this moment, Tony felt very, very… okay. Not patronized, not afraid, not suffocated. Just, okay. Like waking up in a safe house okay. Like knowing you had food to eat okay. Like knowing someone was there for you okay. 

Like he knew that people cared about him okay. 

And there, wrapped in Bruce's warm arms and speckled feathers, on his way home from being held captive for days, without scent suppressors or wing dye, Tony accepted and basked in the feeling. The encasement of safety settled his rattled soul. 

He willed the ambiance to last as long as possible. 

As Tony took deep breaths and relaxed increasingly as the minutes ticked by, and Bruce's arms only held him more securely. The tips of his bare feathers brushed against Bruce's chest and the Beta's own feathers, but rather than being arousing or sending Tony into a panic attack (at least at that moment, anyway), it only added to the calming factor. Warmth flowed between the two bodies, two souls enjoying the existence of the other, one protecting, the other okay with being protected.

For the first time in weeks, possibly a month or two, Tony felt the, strange yet familiar tingle in his throat: the intense urge to purr. Tony tried to swallow it down, not willing to let himself surrender to the hindbrain want to go full Omega with his Flock. Again, the urge bubbled up, and Tony stifled it. All that came out was a little burble, quiet enough for only Bruce to hear it. Bruce only huffed and gave him a gentle squeeze. There were no words, just actions. Tony swallowed his purrs again, successful in keeping it down. Bruce made no hint of noticing. 

Tony sighed, feathers shuffling as his body unwound. He heard Steve rumble in the background, less of a growl and more of a release of air, but it still sent a warm wash of contentedness down Tony's back. There were others here. Others who saved him. Cared about him… 

He tried his best to silence the why? that echoed in the back of his head. There were other things to think about right not

* * *

Tony deemed it a miracle that not only was it dark, but that only a few people met the team on the landing pad when they landed back in New York. It was Dr. Angelo, Fury himself, and two of Dr. Angelo's assistants who greeted them from a safe distance as the Jet touched down and the engine died. 

Tony whined. "I don't want to go out, Bruce." His fingers tightened around Bruce's arms.

"Shhh," Bruce soothes, stroking Tony's greasy hair. "We won't make you go out if you're uncomfortable." 

"Bruce's right," Steve rumbled from above the pair resting on the floor. "We'll ward them off."

Tony shivered as understanding settled on the whole Flock. 

As soon as the Jet landed, Natasha slipped out first, wings sleek and held tightly to her body, soon followed by Clint and Steve, all trying their best to curb their growls at the people encroaching on their flock. 

The assistants stumbled away, obviously nervous, but Dr. Angelo remained as cool and steady as ever. And Fury remained as stoic and hardened as ever. Steve stalked more than he walked up to meet the greeters, feathers flared in an obviously protective display. Dr. Angelo averted her eyes to stare at Steve's chin, avoiding incited a challenge. Fury, however, met Steve's gaze with all the power of an Alpha knowing exactly what he was doing, his pitch-black, gold-dusted wings neutral, but stiff. But Steve was also very aware. 

For several seconds, The Alphas only stared, waiting to see if the energy in the air would dissipate or explode. 

It dissipated. 

"So, did you find Stark?" Fury said gruffly. 

Steve huffed. "Yeah, we did." 

Fury made an expectant face. "Well, are you going to medical? I'm sure you guys need some fucking bandages of some kind."

"Not right at this moment. We're going to all decompress for a few minutes before we come down," Natasha replied coolly, seeing that Steve was bristling a little bit. 

Dr. Angelo made a concerned face, breaking her collected exterior. "Are you sure? I've assumed that no one's severely injured, but—."

"Don't concern yourself, Rachel. They're always like this," Fury said, cutting off Dr. Angelo's worry. She nodded in understanding. Fury took a minute to look around the pad, realizing that there was a distinct absence of other Avengers. "Where's the rest of your team, Captain?" Fury asked. 

Steve stumbled for a second, struggling to come up with a sufficient explanation on the spot. 

"Thor took Loki back to Asgard with promises to make contact. Bucky and Tony are helping Bruce calm down," Clint slid in easily, efficiently covering Steve's ass. 

Fury nodded suspiciously. "Well, alright then. Just make sure you come down to medical before you fall asleep on your feet."

And with that, the greeting party walked away, Dr. Angelo throwing one last glance over her shoulder before the group disappeared from sight. 

Immediately, Natasha scurried over and gave the people still inside the QuinJet the all-clear. Bruce reluctantly let go of Tony, who was eager to get to his warm shower and lavender soap and cozy bathrobe. And JARVIS. Good Lord how he missed JARVIS. The nervous Omega stuck his head out, checking for himself that no one was there, before quickly walking away toward the elevator, Natasha and Bucky at his sides. Tony was slightly amused at the protective gesture. He flushed in the dark when Bucky's flesh hand purposefully brushed against his. 

"You guys going to be okay?" Steve called out from behind them, Bruce looking onward, and Clint stretching his dusty-blue-green wings in the sliver of moonlight. 

Natasha stopped and turned to Tony, asking Steve question with her eyes. 

Tony nodded. "Yeah, it's fine," he muttered nonchalantly. "I… I just want some privacy right now." 

Bucky rotated to face Steve and gave him a thumbs-up. "We'll be fine, Stevie."

With a final nod, Steve turned and walked over the landing platform and extended his snowy feathers, taking a leave and soaring to his floor, Bruce and Clint close behind. 

With the conversation over, the trio gathered into the elevator, and Tony clicked his floor level. JARVIS greeted him with a hint of relief in his robotic voice. 

"Pleasure to see you alive and well, Sir," the AI said. 

Tony smiled at the air. "Great to hear your disembodied voice, J."

JARVIS began to swiftly bring the group to Tony's floor. Bucky had a light touch on his back the whole way down. And Tony was okay with that. 

The second Tony touched down on his floor, he said goodnight to his escorts, darted from the elevator, and rushed into the bathroom. His clothes were hastily peeled off and thrown in a hamper, and Tony didn't even bother looking into the mirror before jumping into shower and setting it to scalding. Days of dirt and cold melting from his body, and he achieved an even further state of relaxation. 

But watching the filth wash away only brought back memories, not only of Loki's captivity, but of Afghanistan, of being threatened, of feeling completely and totally powerless. Tony felt the tears well up, felt his heart clench, and he sank to the shower floor. He could not stop the little sobs that escaped from his mouth or the droplets of water that streamed down his face. His little chokes and whines lasted some time. Thirty-ish minutes later, Tony had no more tears left and had expelled the heavy feeling in his chest enough to stand up and wash himself. 

Soon after, he stepped from the shower, grabbed a fluffy towel, and dried himself as throughly as possible. He finally allowed himself to look at himself in his bathroom mirror, steeling himself to accept his disheveled reflection. He was greeted with a slightly grown-out beard, a ribcage that was peeking out just a bit above his skin, hipbones that peaked out a tad sharper than normal. His wings were particularly ruffled—feathers were sticking out in all directions, some bent in odd ways, and others hanging on by a thread. 

Tony sighed. He had to fix this before he went to medical for check up. He dressed himself in sweatpants and a thin shirt before pressing an all-too familiar button on the side of the bathroom wall. 

He set the Paint-R 3240 to its usual setting, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes as he felt the familiar tugging and rubbing sensation of his feathers being rearranged and dye being applied to his feathers. He then reached over, opened a small drawer, and felt his fingers encircle a small plastic case of suppressants. 

Back to business as usual. 

* * *

Tony shuffled down to medical as nonchalantly as possible, but secretly, his stomach was in knots. He hated going to medical. He hated doctors in general. 

But he knew that there was no getting out of this one. His whole team would be there, and there was no way that Dr. Angelo would let him slide. She was just… powerful like that. He creaked open the door, immediately spotting Bucky and Steve sitting on a couch, who stiffened and stopped whatever conversation they'd been having before Tony entered the room. He lifted a corner of his mouth when they spotted him, and they returned the gesture, albeit awkwardly. Clint was currently getting a look-over, and Bruce was sitting in a calm, meditative state and Natasha worked through his feathers. 

Tony was suddenly struck with the feeling that something was missing, or, rather, not even here. He glanced around, looking for it amiss object, only to realize that if felt odd because Thor wasn't here. There was no overly loud, brass, blond-headed beauty taking up an effortlessly large amount of space. Tony sighed, reminding himself that the Thunder God would be back soon as he took a seat in the off-white chair near Natasha. The scent in here was diluted, very hospital-ly. In made Tony uncomfortable. 

The whole thing went rather uneventfully. Everyone checked out normally. Except for Tony, of course, who had an unreasonably high heart rate the entire time. 

* * *

Tony scurried to the kitchen as soon as the trip to medical was over. He was rather peckish. Picking an apple from the large bowl on the island table, Tony took a huge bite and groaned around its taste. It was perfect, the crunch, the sweetness, the juice that threatened to slip from his mouth. 

Perfection. 

Tony twisted around to get to his room, ready to sleep for a year, neglected projects or not, but made direct eye contact with Bucky, his sweatpants low on his hips and hair damp from a recent shower. Tony took another bite from his apple to distract himself from staring, and Bucky just sighed, his green and blue wings low and flowing. 

"You okay, Tony?" Bucky nearly whispered. 

Tony, slightly surprised by the question, furrowed his brow. "Well, I'm better than yesterday, for sure." 

Bucky bristled a little bit. "Good, I'm glad."

Tony nodded. The silence turned uncomfortable. Bucky began to twiddle his thumbs. Twiddle his thumbs! Tony was 106% sure that super-soldiers shouldn't be able to twiddle their thumbs in such a humanizing way. 

Tony continued to crunch away at his apple, wondering why Bucky was just continuing to pretend that he wasn't staring at Tony with care and some… other emotions that Tony couldn't name swimming in his grey-blue eyes. The Omega nearly squirmed when Bucky stopped pretending to stare and just straight up stared. 

Tony would have thought it was endearing if he wasn't trying to fight a small boner. 

He raised his eyebrows. "What? Is there something on my face?"

Bucky shook his head almost shyly. 

"Then what is it, Ironfist?"

Bucky's lips twitched. "I… I just noticed that you dyed your wings again. And you don't smell like I'm used to."

Tony rolled his eyes, but he was just a smidgen too tired to argue. "I know, Buck. But I didn't want—."

"No, you don't need to explain yourself, Tony. I just…" Bucky cut himself short. 

Okay, Tony was really being thrown off. Bucky wasn't a shy Alpha by any means, and he certainly didn't beat around the bush. Like, ever. And Bucky's scent was like a dying cedar fire, simmering and rich and smoky, and Tony couldn't help but wonder what this Alpha was fucking playing at.

"You just what, Bucky?" Tony said, voice soft yet clipped. 

Bucky licked his lips before biting them, testing Tony's restraint. "I just wanted to let you know that we, as a Flock, will love you, no matter how you look or act or whether you pretend to be an Alpha or not. But we, as your Flock, do want to look out for you. I… I hope you let us after all that has happened. We couldn't protect you like you wanted then, but I swear on Steve's punkishness that we can do better, Tony. Please, please let us do better."

And then Tony's heart fell to the floor. He understood. He understood that they wanted to protect him. He got that. He had always got that. But he had no idea that is would resonate this deep, to be asked to be protected. To be given a choice as to what was going to happen. Bucky was putting trust in him. And that, for some deep-seated, physiological reason, made him feel powerful. But not in the way he was used to. Like he had power over his life. What would happen next. 

And Bucky, who had been through Hell and back too many times, was asking Tony to give them another chance to treat him the way he wanted to be, rather than the way they wanted to. Tony couldn't give words to that. 

So he set his apple down, took a covert deep breath, and gave Bucky the most passion-filled kiss he could muster. 

Bucky froze for a split second before sighing and giving in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you like! We're going to turn over a new leaf with Tony and the Flock, so be prepared! 
> 
> *sips chai tea and homemade meringue cookie*
> 
> Onwards and upwards! 
> 
> I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!


	29. Apple-Scented Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony takes Bucky by surprise...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! This is a pure-fluff-chapter made in honor of Luzifersboyfriend, who, quite literally, begged for fluff. So I made some. There is a tad bit of plot and there was to be more, but this chapter would have been sooooo long, so I'll be posting it later. 
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> All mistakes are mine!

Honestly, when Bucky shifted into silent mode and followed Tony to the kitchen some time after medical, he had no idea as to what he was going to say. After this incident, he knew what Tony was going to do: retreat. Not as a coward, not for his own sake, but because he felt he needed to stay out of everyone's way for a while. As if he had gotten himself kidnapped. As if he would be punished for being in danger. 

Bucky had a vague sense of what everyone else felt: pretty much an unanimous want to hold each other—especially Tony—and puppy pile for a day or so. Bucky included himself in that desire. But even still… He needed to reassure his Flockmate and tell him that it would be different from now on. His stomach was in knots. Right before he left, Clint—who had dropped noiselessly from an air vent—grabbed his metal arm, sans flinching, and merely stared into the green-winged man's icy eyes knowingly before whispering:

"Careful." 

But hadn't they been careful already? Yes, but not in the right way. They had been careful to shield him, a vain task indeed. Tony had already seen and learned about the world in way unique to him and only him; shielding him wouldn't help. It would only confine. 

For this reason, Bucky took an extra steadying breath before he appeared in the kitchen and watched the Omega bless a single apple by putting his gorgeous lips on it. Oh, this was going to be tough. Although his wings stiffened when he saw that Tony's wings were still painted and his scent was not his own, Bucky really, really couldn't help his staring. Aside from the fact that he was one particularly attractive human, Tony was also part of Bucky's flock; in Bucky's deeply embedded Alpha hindbrain, Tony was his. Seeing him relaxed in the kitchen, eating with a content little smile across his lips, unraveled something in Bucky's chest and self-control. The ex-assassin shivered with the effort to not act on this surge of possessiveness. 

When Tony turned and made direct eye contact with him, Bucky personally thanked Thor that the sky was dark and the room dim, otherwise Tony would have seen the Alpha's intense, predatory stare; the last thing Bucky wanted was to turn Tony off before the conversation even started. Although it had a rocky start—he had twiddled his thumbs, dammit; he hadn't done that since he was ten years old—the dialogue went awkwardly well. Bucky had been satisfied with it, proud even. 

And then Tony kissed him. 

And that, Bucky was not ready for. He was not ready for the surge of passion or the fingers entangled in his still-damp hair or the soft groan Tony exhaled. It was gone almost as fast as it appeared, but Tony only pulled back slightly, obviously judging Bucky's reaction before leaning in again, slightly slower and with more purpose. The green-winged Alpha was still shocked into stagnation. 

As the smaller man shifted against him, Bucky could feel his resolve begin to crumble as his eyes began to slip closed. Little pieces of control continued to disappear as Bucky fell deeper under Tony's intense kiss. He felt his wings lift and expand, heard his feathers rustle, moved his hands to wrap around Tony's waist and pull him closer. Finally, when Tony lightly tugged on his lower lip, Bucky released the low, purr-like growl that had been building in his chest and licked tentatively into Tony's mouth. 

Tony didn't exactly know what came over his body after he gave Bucky that first kiss. But he wanted, and not only did he want: he wanted more. He saw Bucky's damp skin and freshly-washed hair, smelled the cedar fire in the Alpha's scent, and gave in. It was thoughtless, yes, but Bucky had just told Tony that he could make his own choices regarding how he was treated. There was no way Tony was just going to accept that with words; he needed action. 

He made his own choice. 

He ran his fingers through Bucky's hair, taking note of how the Alpha sighed heavily when it tugged just a little bit, and Tony's wings would shiver in response. Bucky became more brazen, rubbing his hands against Tony's sides and curling his tongue, stroking the inside of the Omega's mouth. Now, Tony was a good kisser—he prided himself on it just a bit—but James Barnes was a fantastic one. He would lick and nip and caress until the other party—currently Tony—was a shivering, jelly-kneed mess, and Tony was definitely becoming that. 

The kestrel-winged man tried to take a breath though the nose, but, instead of getting air, he received a lungful of hot, smoldering, log-cabin-fireplace scent that sent a huge bolt of heat through his stomach and caused him to flare his wings out. The soft, airy moan he released in response was not unnoticed. 

Bucky smirked when he felt Tony lean into him more than he had before. He detached from the Omega's kiss-swollen mouth and dove for his neck, picking an area and lavishing it with attention. His tongue traced down a tendon before kissing his way back up, making sure to nibble Tony's ear, then repeated the action. The corners of his mouth curled up with he felt Tony shiver. 

However, when Tony released a noise that was more apprehension than breathlessness, Bucky immediately stopped to check what was wrong. 

"What?" the Alpha asked quietly, looking into Tony's eyes. " Y'okay?"

Tony audibly swallowed. At this moment, he had a couple of options. He could either be honest and say that he was just a bit turned on and that scared him a little, that he needed to call Pepper, like, right now—which was also true—or that he needed to catch up on all the stuff he missed while kidnapped. None of those were super great reasons to stop, though. And Bucky smelled so wonderful, even if it had been watered down a bit from concern. 

"Yeah, it's just, uh…" Tony stammered. 

Bucky, sensing his Flockmate's hesitation, moved his hands from Tony's waist to his shoulders and pulled his wings into neutral position. He had just promised to Tony, on the entire Flock's behalf, that Tony's choices were his choices. He wasn't about to infringe five-and-a-half minutes after establishing that. 

"Tony, what is it? Do you want to stop?"

Tony hated the little whine that escaped his throat at the prospect of stopping. He didn't want to, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to keep going either. He had his wing dye and suppressors on for a reason…

The little questioning noise Bucky made in the back of his throat made Tony drop his wings and furrow his brow a bit; he traced Bucky's sharp jaw with a weathered hand. The Alpha relaxed, but remained focused. 

Tony sighed. "It's not that I don't want to, Buck, really. I just…I'm thinking about other things right now."

Bucky nodded."I definitely know the feeling." He leaned forward and pecked Tony on the lips on last time. "Get some rest, doll. Goodnight."

And, like the shadow he was trained to be, Bucky slipped away into the darkness, leaving Tony alone, his fingers touching his lips, wondering how he was supposed to get anything done tonight at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides nosebleed* This was so fun to write. Will be posting again really, really soon! *sips chai tea* *nibbles cookie* *gets crumbs in laptop keyboard* 
> 
> Love you guys!


	30. Jigsaw Puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony freaks out, bakes, makes out, then freaks out again. 
> 
> Poor, poor Dr. Marlene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sigh* Hi, again. 
> 
> It's been a while, hasn't it?
> 
> But OMG! 30 CHAPTERS?! 60,000+ WORDS?! 60,000+ HITS?!?! 
> 
> Thank you so much, you guys... I never thought I would get this far. You've stuck with me through all of the weirdness and long-ass update times and Tony being slightly OOC this whole time. 
> 
> I could never have done this without you! 
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you. 
> 
> *hands out free cupcakes*

Tony left the kitchen swiftly after his brief-yet-enticing makeout with Bucky, practically sprinting down to his lab and deciding that he needed an immediate distraction from what had happened thirty second ago. Upon opening his files, he searched for every single project that he either needed to finish or get started on. After a thorough review, he found only 7 in need of urgent attention. Not too bad; he'd definitely had to tackle more at once before. He exhaled, releasing tension he didn't know he had, dug out his StarkPhone. 

Ring. Ring. Ring. Click.

"Tony? Tony? Oh, my God, you're okay! Wait, are you okay? They wouldn't tell me anything and I had to explain to everyone that you were horribly sick and then field off all of the calls asking how you were and then try to keep up wth every last it of paperwork and act like I was perfectly fine when I was always on the edge of crying—"

"Hi, Pep. Yes, it's me, and yes, I'm fine." Tony was just as choked up his CEO was, if not more so, but he knew that him crying would result in Pepper soaring over ASAP and spending the entire night making sure that he was indeed okay because that's what Alphas did. 

"Oh, Tony… I was so afraid," Pepper whispered, her voice cracking. Tony could practically smell her distressed scent through the phone.

"I was, too. But hey, it's not the first kidnapping I've survi—"

"No!" Pepper scolded. "Don't you even start that. You've just been through another traumatic thing and I'll be damned if you start playing the martyr again!" A sob echoed through the receptor. 

"I'm—I'm so sorry, Pep," Tony mumbled, feathers drooped in remorse. "I don't know if I know how to be anything else."

Another sob came through before Pepper spoke again. "I know. Just—just please get help this time, okay?"

Tony's heart dropped, not only at her sincere demand, but also at the thought of having to see someone who was experienced in dealing with his special kind of PTSD and anxiety. Not to mention having to hide his Omeganess from one more individual person. 

"I-I—" Tony stammered. 

"No," Pepper snapped. "You are going to see someone. I will set it up myself if I have to, but you are going to heal properly this time, goddamnit!" 

"Okay, okay. I'll do it, Pep. I promise," Tony said clearly, making sure the red-head woman heard him. 

A sniffle answered him before words did. "Good."

A moment passed. 

"So, what meetings did I miss?" Tony half-chuckled. 

A half-chuckle replied in kind. "I'd thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Tony tried to put off calling Dr. Marlene for as long as he could. Which, in his mind, was fair enough. He didn't really want to sleep, he had to finish this one last fucking equation, and he was still mulling over how to got about looking for a therapist. The only thing worse than doing it himself was having Pepper do it for him… But that brought him back to Dr. Marlene, who could probably give him the fantastic, if catastrophically honest, advice she always did. 

So, yeah. He should do that. 

But beyond that, he couldn't stop thinking about what Bucky said: "We couldn't protect you like you wanted then, but I swear on Steve's punkishness that we can do better, Tony. Please, please let us do better." 

Tony shivered. What exactly did that entail: "doing better?" The possibilities filled Tony with both fear and anticipation. 

But anyway, back to grinding. 

* * *

Two or three days passed—or something like that, Tony really couldn't be bothered to tell—and finally he emerged to the communal kitchen around 2 am, groggy yet inspired, and looking for something easy to eat. But, when he shuffled through the door, he saw his little salt-and-pepper-winged Beta puttering away, making the kitchen smell like a grandmotherly heaven. Chocolate chips, raspberries, and cinnamon decorated the countertops in various patterns, and Tony grinned through the slight fog in his brain. 

"Good night, Brucie-Bear," Tony mumbled, announcing his presence. 

Bruce jumped just slightly at Tony's voice, but smiled gently at the tired Omega. "Perhaps it's more of a really early good morning, wouldn't you say?" 

"I suppose," Tony chuckled, admiring his flour-and-sugar-covered Beta. 

Effortlessly, Tony slipped into Bruce's baking rhythm, sweeping the flour-covered counter clean and checking the recipe book to see what Bruce was baking. Raspberry Chocolate Dream Snaps were apparently what Bruce had in mind. 

Perfect, though Tony. What better way to bring Bucky's and Steve's and Natasha's and Thor's inhuman Alpha bodies down to the 'normal, not-super-soldier/god' setting than with copious amounts of sugar and butter? With these sugar-coma-inducing cookies, obviously!

With nothing more than a huff of amusement, Tony grabbed the cookie sheets and parchment paper and melted chocolate chips as Bruce washed raspberries. He threw a loving look over his shoulder that Bruce teasingly mimicked, and Tony's soul settled. He fully relaxed, letting the stress in his limbs melt away. 

He didn't even worry about leaving a trace of the scent of orange scones to mix in with the scent of cookies. 

* * * 

Steve was the first person up that morning, beating Natasha only because he was amping up his running distance for a little while as part of an altered training regiment. He had been groggy and still rubbing sleep from his eyes when he pattered into the kitchen and was promptly seduced by a fantastic conglomerate of sweetness. Sugar, oranges, raspberries, earthy tones, and comfort. The cookies relaxing on the counter explained some of the scents, and the geniuses asleep on the adjacent couch explained the rest. 

Steve took a moment to admire the pair of brunettes, their legs tangled and breaths evenly synchronized. Tony had his head resting on Bruce's shoulder, cuddled up against the broader man, and Bruce had a protective hand across Tony's lower back. Beyond the soft breathing, Steve could pick up the faint sound of Tony purring. The Flock Alpha had half a mind to pick them both up and carry them both back to his den and douse them in protective scent and snuggle them until they'd never want to leave. 

One day, Steve would give into that instinct, but maybe after he ran an extra mile to justify the cookies he was about to eat at 6:00 in the morning. 

* * *

Tony wanted to enjoy his cookie and fiddle with this one equation, really he did, but he was having a hard time of it since Natasha was perched on the kitchen counter and watching him as if she wished she could devour Tony the same way he was his Raspberry Chocolate Dream Snap. Tony tried to make it seem as though he wasn't affected—after all, appearing unaffected by most things was a huge part of his repertoire—but Natasha's gaze was making him tingle. 

Every time he looked up to see if she was still looking, he would make direct contact with deep, forest eyes that gave him goosebumps. He tried to keep he wings from shivering, but Natasha was openly displaying flirtily, swaying them back and forth and flashing the deep purple underside feathers. At this point, Tony wasn't even paying attention to the math anymore, he was doodling numbers.

This is why he worked in the workshop and not on one of the common room couches, where he and Bucky—stop it, Tony! Tony inwardly berated himself. Don't given Nat a reason to pounce!

But it looked like she might pounce anyway. 

She slipped down from her perch, making her steps just loud enough that Tony could hear her coming—something which was completely intentional—and sat down next to him, her rich orchid scent deepening and enveloping him. He tried to breathe through his mouth without being obvious about it, but rather than smelling her scent, he could taste it; it stuck to his tongue and nearly numbed his mouth. It was sweet and luscious, yet still sharp, slightly dangerous, just like Natasha. As much as Tony wished he could find it distasteful, he couldn't. It was too good. 

He loved it. He almost wanted more.

Without warning, Natasha pressed against him—his cookie, pad, and pen forgotten on the floor—and teased him by lightly brushing her lips across his. Her wings flowed forward, her feathers rubbing against his, guaranteeing that he'd need to do a touch-up later, but the Omega couldn't find it in himself to care. The sensation made him gasp in surprise. Tony froze, as did Natasha, and they stayed there for a moment. Tony could feel her breathe ghosting against his top lip, making it quiver, and her scent was magnifying with her this close. Her eyes were boring into him, even though they were half-lidded. Her thighs were resting on either side of his, and he could feel his heartbeat where they made contact. 

The tension was killing him.

Tony didn't know if Natasha was doubting herself or if she was waiting for Tony to make the first move or what, but he needed her. Needed her thick, cloying scent all over him. Needed her body flush with his. Needed her right where she was, just doing more. 

Shyly, Tony lifted his chin and brushed their lips together again. With that movement, Natasha cupped his head, gripped his bicep, and put everything she had into the kiss. Tony could barely keep up with her light nips and gentle sweeps of her tongue against his bottom lip. She pulled his hair just enough to make his moan, then pressed her tongue inside, making Tony groan. Her grin only make Tony tingle more than her already was. 

Unsure of where to touch, Tony kept his hands of her hips, rubbing little circle with his thumbs, relishing when he pressed in a little harder and heard his Alpha sigh in encouragement. Her wings were still composed, reaching forward and wrapping around Tony's body and encircling him in soft warmth. Even though Tony was physically larger than Natasha, he felt so small now, but in the best way possible. He felt cared for. 

His flock knew he was Omega. They knew. And they were still here. He had not been kicked out or left behind. 

He was still here. 

In the heat of the moment, Tony reached to massage Natasha chest, but the Alpha pulled away from him, causing to whine. She traced his kiss-swollen lips with a calloused finger. 

"Ah ah ah," she whispered, her voice rough. "I don't think Steve would approve, do you?"

Tony, still a little kiss-stupid, couldn't really understand what she meant. Why wouldn't Steve approve? Why would he even care if he and Natasha—?

Oh. 

Oh, my. 

She meant the claiming thing…

Tony shivered at the possibility that Steve might actually want to claim him, make the Flock official. And Jesus, with seven people, that claiming would be messy and extensive. And really, really intense. 

Tony blinked. 

They were planning on claiming him?

"Yes, Tony, we are. And we have every intention of making it fantastic," Natasha murmured into his ear, making him realize that he said that last part out loud. 

"R-really?" Tony mumbled.

Natasha nodded her head. "I can't wait for it." And she kissed him again with the same intensity for several more minutes. 

* * *

Ring. Ring. Ring. 

Click. 

"Hello, Tony! How are y—?"

"They want to claim me, Angela!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was a slight mess of a chapter, I know. Pretty much all that happens is Tony makes out with Natasha, I know. But I have an actual writing schedule now that school is FINALLY OUT FOR ME! 
> 
> Sorry it took so long...
> 
> *warms up old tea mug* 
> 
> So, let's get back on track, shall we?


	31. Lightning's Return and Coming to Terms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Transitions between thoughts and an Alpha returns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. 
> 
> General shitiness and errors are all mine.

Usually, when Dr. Marlene answered the phone for Tony, the genius wasn't panicked—not like he was right now. Although he was brash, loud, unforgiving with his presence, it didn't translate into lack of confidence. Right now, Tony was afraid. And panicking. And short of breath. 

"Tony, Tony! Calm down. Deep breaths for me, okay? In and out, in and out," Dr. Marlene directed, waiting for Tony's heaves to become less spastic and uncontrolled. The Omega was able to gain control over himself after a few minutes, but now they had to address the reason Tony called. 

“Can you stay calm, Tony, while you tell me what’s wrong?” Dr. Marlene asked with all the patience and kindness in the world. 

“T-they want to claim me, Angie. They actually want to claim me,” Tony stammered. 

“Wait, who, Tony?” 

“M-my Alphas. T-they told me that...” Tony trailed off. His breathing was still controlled, but Dr. Marlene could practically hear his thumping heart through the phone. Poor Tony. Clearly he was having a little trouble processing the offered claim, but he called them ‘his Alphas,’ which was reason to hope. Dr. Marlene got control over her own breath before she replied. 

“Okay, okay, I understand. How does that make you feel?” She asked. Two deep breaths were her reply. “Come on, Tony. Speak to me.” 

One more deep breath. Then words. “I’m terrified.” Tony’s voice sounded so small, so breakable, and Dr. Marlene wished she able to hug him. If, you know, they weren’t thousands of miles away and she was allowed to have that kind of relationship with her patients. But Tony always seemed to be the exception. 

Dr. Marlene furrowed her brows when Tony didn’t elaborate further on that one sentence.“That’s all? No elation, no happiness, no joy? None at all?” 

Tony scoffed, as if those things could have been obviously inferred. “Well, of course,” he said. However, his voice wavered a little as he continued to talk. “But you know how it is. I’m an Omega with more problems than I’m worth. Sure, you could say they know me, but if they really did, they’d know that claiming me is a bad idea. I mean, who in their right mind would ever—.” 

“Tony, stop that,” Dr. Marlene snapped, effectively cutting him off. “I can’t believe that we’re still talking about these kinds of things. They like you, enough to extend an offer of claiming, and you don’t think they’re committed? Tony, I may not know your Alphas on a personal level, but you do. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Maybe trust them. They’re giving their hearts to you just as much as you’re giving yours to them.” 

Tony sighed, feeling his stiff, gunked-up wings relax out of sheer mental exhaustion. He didn’t want to do emotions, especially not right now. “Whatever. I’ll figure something out. Thanks, Angela,” he said dismissively. 

“Of course, Tony,” she said, just as dismissive, know she wasn’t going to get anymore out of him. 

A few seconds of silence passed, and Tony started to twitch his wings a little bit. 

“Just asking, but how much did I initially bribe you for keeping secrets?” Tony chuckled, anxious to get the heaviness out of the air. 

“Honey, I’ve dealt with Omegas of all kinds. Rich, poor, homeless, royalty, male, female, gay, bisexual, straight, you name it. You get used to keeping secrets. Bribes don’t matter. I’ve only ever wanted to be sure that Omegas were doing what they could to survive. God knows I came from a place worse than where I am now.” Dr. Marlene’s voice was introspective and quiet, as though she had taken a brief moment to relfect on all the dancing around she had done in her years of distributing surpressants. 

Tony sighed heavily. “Will you ever stop?” The question was meant to be playful, but it came out concerned and sympathetic. Tony knew that if he was ever asked that about most things, the answer would likely be a flat out “no.” 

She chuckled sadly in response. “Just because suppressants are mostly legal doesn’t mean they’re treated that way. Truthfully, Tony, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be around. They... the government doesn’t like my operation very much.” Her voice became angrier. “They’ve attempted to take my medical license away two or three times. They question the legality of my work, despite it being completely and totally within guidelines and regulations. No Omega who receives surpressants from me has suffered, neither has any Omega been killed directly from them, unlike other distributers. And yet, I’m constantly under surveillance. I’ve had my house searched. I’ve been questioned twice a year for a decade, all because I help out Omegas who need to hide or slow down biology for whatever viable reason. I’ve never really understood why they are so intent on stopping me from keeping Omegas out of the situations I’ve been in.” 

Tony felt her pause as she collected herself. She sniffled a bit, then took a slow, deep breath. Tony knew that Angela grew up in a bad place during hard times, but this was his first real indication that she had more heart in her work than she lead on. Tony’s heart panged with sympathy. Dr. Marlene knew what it meant to suffer, just like he did. 

Dr. Marlene spoke again. “I don’t say this to scare you, I promise. I just...get rather passionate about this topic. Whatever happens, don’t worry. Everyone’s info is safe and stored. No one will know. Ever. You’re safe, Tony.” 

Safe. Safe. Tony, you’re safe here. With us. You always will be, we promise.

“Thanks, Doc. A pleasure, as always,” Tony said quickly. 

He hung up before he heard a response. 

~

Not wanting to take anymore time dwelling about the claim offer, Tony had been down in his workshop for hours, tweaking and retweaking this one piece of machinery. No matter how delicate his movements, a particular piece of metal would always just be a bit too far to the left or right. Tony blamed it on his imperfect hands. 

But really, it was his wandering mind. 

Eventually, Tony had to take five minutes to get some Aspirin for a headache that was evolving into a migraine. He’d have to get some relief if he was to finish this one alkaline prototype that had been floating around in his to-do list for ages. He dug around in one of this lab cabinets, taking care not to smear too much grease all over the stainless steel, but all he could find were some old tools and empty bottles of various chemicals. No Aspirin. Which meant he’d have to walk upstairs and go though the medicine cabinet in the main kitchen. Grumbling to himself, Tony stomped his way over to the landing platform and jumped into the air, then soared over to the main floor entrance. 

He found Bucky and Bruce in the kitchen tittering about, getting something to eat while brushing up against each other’s wings. Tony felt irrationally jealous, but shook it off. Bruce saw him first and smiled softly at him before pulling him into a light hug. The earthy scent of the Beta put Tony’s heart at rest for the first time in what felt like forever. He relaxed into it, feeling his wings droop and sway, also releasing long-held tension. Bruce, the angel that he was, offered Tony a grilled cheese, and the Omega jumped at the opportunity. Bruce and Tony began to ramble about their various projects, then Bruce sent Tony over to the sink to wash his hands. 

On his way to the sink, Tony finally made eye-contact with Bucky, and, also immediately, his tension was back. If there was one thing that Bucky—and Natasha and Clint, come to think of it—was good at, it was looking at you like they knew exactly what was happening beneath a calm, smooth mask. Bucky’s gaze was heated and devious and made Tony shiver—if the grin was anything to go by, the bastard knew it, too. Tony hoped that Bucky didn’t actually know about how the claiming offer made Tony’s head spin off axis. Bucky slinked forward and gave Tony a kiss on the forehead. 

“Afternoon, Tony,” Bucky murmured, voice gravelly and eyes intense. 

Tony hoped that Bucky didn’t feel the goosebumps that erupted on his skin and swallowed was would have been a stutter. He nudged Bucky’s shoulder with his own playfully. “Hey, Bucky,” he answered, then washed his hand like a normal fucking person. 

As Tony ate, Bucky made no mention of the claiming offer. 

Tony knew that the Alphas had all been in accordance in their claiming, but he wondered if Natasha had acted on her own. What if Steve and Bucky didn’t—. 

BOOM. 

A crack of thunder and a random, heavy rain swept over the New York sky in a matter of seconds. As people began to sprint for cover, Tony only smiled. He felt a little warmth in his chest that indicated one of his teammates was back.

“JARVIS, make sure that Thor has something to dry himself off with when he gets down here.”

“Of course, Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's late. Like, months late. 
> 
> My parents are divorcing, my dog and my grandfather died, I'm applying to college, my friend's boyfriend committed suicide, and senior year is kicking my ass. 
> 
> This isn't a pity party, I swear. But please know that I've been thinking about you guys and this story. It's not abandoned. It will be finished. I'm just going through a rough patch, as is with life. 
> 
> Keep your fingers crossed for college acceptance letters! 
> 
> XOXO, LittleStarredSky
> 
> PS. Still looking for a Beta! Especially if this Beta uses Evernote, like I do!


	32. One Black Cat and Two Golden Dogs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One small step for the Flock, one giant, sexy leap for Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) 
> 
> So, this chapter is, like, a tad weird. But there's a reason, I promise! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Judging by the rainstorm he brought along with him, it was no secret to the team that Thor was returning in sour spirits. Tony didn’t doubt that his mood had everything to do with handing Loki over to Odin and having little to no say about that happened to him—they were brothers, after all—and being forced into silence and giving all power over. 

Tony knew the feeling well. 

After snarfing down his grilled cheese as fast as humanly possible, Tony grabbed Bruce’s hand, gave Bucky a very pointed look, and swooshed into the elevator. On the short ride up to the landing platform that JARVIS indicated that Thor had landed on, Tony felt his tummy turn over with butterflies and his wings vibrate just a smidge. He couldn’t tell if it was nerves or excitement, but it threw him off nonetheless. Since when was he so damn eager to see one of his Alphas? Could he even call them that yet? Was that allowed, even mentally? Did Thor even know that they had—? 

“Tony, babe, stop thinking so hard,” Bucky murmured, voice still gravelly. “I can almost guarantee that you are overthinking whatever it is you’re stressing about.”

Tony flexed his feathers in irritation. No way had was he that easy to read, super-duper-secret-assassin-spy or not. “Shut up, Bucky. I’m just… excited.” 

Bucky’s eyebrows shot up and his scent deepened almost immediately. Tony felt Bucky’s wings brush against him flirtily, barely caressing Tony’s underfeathers, and the Omega felt his breath hitch. Bucky twitched as though he was going to speak, but Bruce very quickly shut him up. 

“Save it, Barnes. There is no way you can justify what I know you’re about to do, and we’ll be seeing Thor soon. Keep your knot in your pants for thirty more seconds,” Bruce snipped, even though his face had the slightest hint of a smirk on it. 

While Bucky began to blush himself to death, Tony feigned mortification. “My dear Brucie, I had no idea you were capable of producing such harsh words! I must be dreaming. I can’t believe my quiet, loving, logical scientist just summoned the balls to stop the big bad Alpha in his tracks!” Rolling his eyes in response, Bucky poked Tony’s side hard enough to get a yelp. 

Bruce copied Bucky in the eye roll. “Only when I need to, Tony.” Bruce’s eyed suddenly darkened and narrowed in on Bucky who’s emerald wings suddenly, and quite visibly, shivered. “Only when I need to.”

And with that, the elevator door opened and Bruce strolled out as though nothing had happened. And Tony, never one to be outdone is pretending nothing was wrong, did the same damn thing, just a millisecond slower. And Bucky just kept on being Bucky. 

Steve and Clint were already at the landing platform, enveloped comfortably in a huge hug from one particular God of Thunder. All Tony saw and smelled was a huge mass of happily fluttering gold and white and dusty-blue feathers that were emanating the most delicious concoction of scents. At the sight of just a couple of his flock members together and calm, Tony’s tummy erupted in butterflies again. Mine, Tony’s hindbrain rumbled. My flock. After feeling how strongly that resonated in his body, Tony shook his head to clear it away. He pretended to miss the confused look Bruce sent him. 

“Thor!” Tony called out, delighting in the cool air that Thor’s rain sent into the space. Thor’s eyes—as well as Steve’s and Clint’s—blinked open and brightened when he saw the smaller man striding toward him. Tony nestled himself right between Steve and Clint and added his own arms into the hug, relishing the contact and closeness between his and his flock… God, when did he get so mushy. 

Tony pulled away only to be squished back in when Bruce and Bucky came over, effectively pinning Tony against Steve’s broad chest. Tony let out a very small gasp and felt Steve's chuckle more than he heard it. 

“It’s wonderful to be here,” Thor whisper-yelled. 

“Good to have you back, Lightning Rod,” mumbled Clint. 

Thor gave a little belly laugh. “Someday, dear Clint, you must explain the name you’ve bestowed on me.”

“Yeah, someday,” Clint snipped. 

“Hurry back in, boys. I made hot chocolate!” Tony perked up when he heard Natasha’s voice from somewhere in the room. He wasn’t surprised that he didn’t really see her, but he still managed to weasel his way out out of the pile just as fast as Clint had. Both men took off from the landing platform at full wingspan, each one determined to get to the hot chocolate first. 

Absentmindedly, Tony noticed that the pour had reduced to a light sprinkle. 

~

After spending a few hours relaxing and decompressing with Thor and hearing about the situation with Loki, everyone had retired to their own little corners around the Tower with the promise to come together again for dinner. Tony had gone back down to the workshop and was very close to finishing several project that simply needed to be sent to Pepper, along with the minimal amount of paperwork that he had been instructed to do at some point during the past few days. A final wire was put in place, a last screw inserted, several items ready to be sent down. For once, Tony felt decently accomplished, so he spent a few extra minutes installing some updates he’d been meaning to add to his suit for at least two full days now. Tony turned up the AC/DC and got to work. 

In the middle of “Shook Me All Night Long," Steve sauntered down, his shield in hand, announcing his presence with a puff of leather and oranges. Tony let Steve stand behind him for a second before he set down his blowtorch. 

“Whaddup, Capsicle? You need something?” Tony asked, wings flowing out from where they’d been tightly tucked to keep them from getting singed. 

Steve fidgeted for a split second before handing his shield over. “Yeah, you said you had an update for me? I mean, the sheild.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in playful disbelief as he turned his music down. “Oh, did I now?” He took the shield and mockingly inspected it. 

“Yeah, I remember you said something about improving aerodynamics,” Steve said, wings held in politely. 

The tips of Tony’s wings flipped as he remembered. “Right, I was going to alter the shield’s arc and... a couple other things. Thanks, Stevie. I’ll have this back in 12 hours.”

He expected Steve to turn and leave, but the Alpha’s brow scrunched up adorably. “Tony, are you sure I didn’t interrupt? It looks like you were in the middle of something.” 

While the eyebrow scrunch was adorable, the concern that Steve had, as well as the depth that his scent gained, was even more so. Tony smiled softly and rubbed Steve’s shoulder. “I’m sure, Steve.” You always come first, Tony wanted to say. You’re flock. 

Instead, Tony learned up and pressed his lips to Steve’s in a chaste, sweet kiss. The Alpha stiffened, clearly taken off guard, but quickly relaxed. The Omega felt warm, large hands circle his waist and ground him, making his skin tingle is excitement. Tony pulled away just as Steve’s wings began to flare out and his scent took on a lusty tone.

“12 hours, Stevie,” Tony mumbled, quickly regaining his composure

Steve swallowed and straightened, clearly unaware of how his cheeks gave him away. “Yeah, 12 hours.” 

With that, Steve turned and left the lab, leaving his scent and a slightly erect Omega in his wake.

~

A few days later, Tony was freshly showered, in his comfiest pyjamas, all his projects were done, and he had an empty night for the first time in what felt forever. He was sitting in front of the TV in the common room, watching Pirates of the Caribbean with a huge bowl of popcorn. Tony had forgone wing dye for the night, despite the pit that formed in his stomach. He just felt so exposed and bare, and not in the sexy way. But he was alone… which was both fine and not fine. He wanted a cuddle buddy, but he wanted to let his wings breathe without someone there to see them. Yeah, he was being indecisive. Sue him. 

As soon as Tony was completely settled on the couch, Steve strolled in, also freshly showered and in his pyjamas. Tony groaned; the Universe was cruel. Tony met Steve’s calm blue eyes and felt the pit in his gut shrink. Steve smiled at him, which caused the pit to evolve into butterflies. 

Yeah, evil universe. 

Wordlessly, Steve padded over and slide next to Tony’s right side, slipping his left wing behind Tony’s back, notching their feathers together. Tony held his breath, waiting to see if Steve would do anything more, but the Alpha merely directed his eyes to the screen and watched the movie. Steve’s feathers were pillow soft and extremely warm, causing the Omega in Tony to beg to be let out and purr for his Alpha. He made a small gargling noise as he tried to hold his purr down, but that only caused Steve to look over with his damn brows furrowed again. Tony wanted to say something, but suddenly his vocal cords simply couldn’t form words. But then again, Steve wasn’t saying anything, either. 

Tony took a breath and kept his face neutral, but his wings fluttered just a bit, giving his nerves away. Steve, the sly bastard, scooted a bit closer and rested a warm hand on Tony’s thigh, not high enough to be suggestive nor low enough to be awkward. Just a solid presence. Tony hummed in satisfaction, letting his guard slip down just a smidge. 

He was safe with Steve. Safe. You’re safe here, Tony. 

Some time later, large thumping footsteps echoed down the hall, alerting the pair of someone’s approach. The scent of woody petrichor seeped into the room, and Tony’s mouth perked up just a little. 

In a matter of seconds, Tony was flanked on either side by two tall gorgeous blonds, one of whom was tracing patterns on his thigh and another who was running a hand mindlessly through his bare feathers. Tony’s actual brain knew that these were supposed to be comforting touches rather than sexual one, but all his hindbrain was processing was how his body was tingling a little with every downward stroke that Thor gave, or how Steve's hand was creeping further and further up his leg. In a moment of weakness, Tony let a single strong purr rumble from his throat. 

The second they heard it, the Alphas froze for a millisecond, and it was just long enough for Tony to swallow the rest of it back down, producing another gargling noise. Tony coughed and shuffled his feathers in order to try and cover up the embarrassing sound, but Steve and Thor were not so easily fooled. Now, instead of just one pair of puppy dog eyes, Tony was being subjected to two. Steve’s thumbed pressed into Tony’s leg a little in reassurance, and Tony sighed as his body and wings relaxed a bit more. Slowly, that sigh became a quiet purr.

They all focused back on the movie, and Tony let himself purr in the background, pretending he didn’t notice the Alphas’ pleased smiles. The scent of citrus and rainy woods began to deepen in the room, and Tony—because he was comfortable, damnit—reacted by letting out an itty-bitty puff of his own orange-blossom pheromones. Tony guessed that if anyone walked in at that moment, it’d be like walking into an orange orchard… if that orchard was also filled with some tense sexual energy. Steve’s hand was almost at his hip now, and Thor had moved from touching Tony's wing to rubbing the back of his neck. Tony was still purring, but now it was a little lower and hoarser, like he was trying to focus on purring and not pouncing. 

Just as Thor’s fingers briefly traced his ear, Tony tensed up for a second before very, very shakily telling himself to not do anything stupid this time around. 

They all lasted calmly for a while, but just as Captain Jack Sparrow started sparring with Barbosa, Tony felt Steve’s eyes on his neck. The stormy irises were clearly hungry and heated—as if the sharper, darker leather undertones of Steve's scent weren’t obvious enough—and the tension heightened with the movie’s score. Tony couldn’t deny to twinge of anxiety in his gut, but it was completely overwhelmed by the anticipation and the desire that was stirring in his chest. The eyes roamed all over the column of Tony’s throat, searching the perfect place to lean in, and Tony felt himself redden. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Steve leaned in and placed a ridiculously gentle kiss below Tony’s ear, right where his neck and jaw connected. While tiny, the contact made goosebumps ripple all over Tony’s body, and even though the Omega tried to supress his shiver as best he could, he knew that Steve felt it where his lips rested on Tony’s neck. Encouraged, Steve continued to mouth down Tony’s neck, letting his tongue caress the soft skin just enough to make Tony’s breath hitch. The Alpha’s arms were now loosely wrapped around his waist, holding Tony in place while he teased the brunet. The Omega squirmed just a little, trying to decide whether he wanted to tense up from the attention or melt into it, but he was suddenly pressed into the couch by even larger, more calloused hands. Thor had managed to slip his hands under Tony’s shirt, tracing the smaller man’s lithe, toned body and politely avoiding the Arc Reator. After outlining Tony’s abs, the god’s thumbs massaged into his hips, eliciting a soft moan from him. 

Steve took his mouth off of Tony with a chuckle. “That’s not fair,” the Alpha mumbled, voice an octave lower than usual. “Thor touches your hips and you melt, but I can’t get a little sigh for my troubles?”

Unable to hold back the snark, Tony replied, “Lucky guess, I supp—! Ah!” 

Clearly Steve wasn’t really looking for an answer because he dropped down and nibbled on Tony’s Adam’s apply before working away on a hickey. 

“A stroke of luck, indeed,” Thor murmured as he stroked up and down Tony's sides. 

While being competed over was a really primitive turn-on for Omegas, Tony was still enough in his right mind to be a little stupid. Deciding to tease Steve a little, Tony let out a huge, dramatic sigh as the Alpha gave a particularly passionate suck. “Oh, yes, Alpha, that feels so good!” Tony mewled jokingly. 

Tony didn’t expect the huge spike of Alpha pheromones that flooded the space or the low, aroused growl from two separate men. 

Well, that certainly counted as something very, very stupid, Tony. Jesus Christ, if only Dr. Marlene could see him now. 

“Tony,” Thor rumbled, “watch your choice of words. It is certainly already enough of a challenge to restrain myself from ravishing you.” 

Behind a satisfied smirk, Tony shivered. “I know what I said, Goldilocks.” Clearly he hadn’t figured out that is was best not to tease the turned-on Alphas. 

Steve growled right in Tony’s ear, causing tingles to grow in Tony’s lower body. “Careful, Tony,” the Head Alpha murmured. He set his hand on Tony’s thigh again, making the Omega jump. “You may be safe from outside threats, but in here, you’re at our mercy.” And oh, boy, if Tony’s joking moans set the Alphas off, that sentence made Tony’s scent spike so hard that Steve’s hand clenched on his leg. Steve’s nose traced up Tony’s neck, scenting him. “Hm, it seems you like that idea, huh, Tony?”

Yeah. Yeah, he did. If it was Steve, if it was Thor, if it was his Flock, his Flockmates, he could happily be at their mercy once in a while. Or once a day. Whatever worked best for them. 

Tony didn’t get to respond, as Thor’s lips were already pressed to his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my college plans got flipped upside down... Yip-dee-fucking-doo. 
> 
> Hope you liked it! 
> 
> As usual, all errors and general shittiness are mine.

**Author's Note:**

> Keep me up to date on thoughts, edits, or general chaotic fixes that y'all think I need to do!


End file.
